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In  memoriam,  William  Miller 
Paxton,  1824-1904. 


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WILLIAM  MILLER  PAXTON,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


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WILLIAM  MILLER  PAXTON,  D.D.,  LLD. 

1824-1904 


FUNERAL  AND  MEMORIAL   DISCOURSES 
WITH  APPENDIXES  AND  NOTES 


NEW  YORK 
1905 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Address  at  the  Funeral  Services  by  the  Eev.  John 

De  Witt,  D.D.,  LL.D 7 

Memorial  Discourse  by  the  Eev.  Benjamin  B.  Warfield, 

D.D.,  LL.D 17 

Appendix 

i  From  the  Eev.  Dr.  Thomas  K.  Davis,  Wooster,  Ohio    ...  53 

ii  From  the  Eev.  Dr.  S.  F.  Scovel,  Wooster,  Ohio 56 

hi  From  the  Eev.  Dr.  Oscar  A.  Hills,  Wooster,  Ohio    ....  66 

iv  From  the  Eev.  Dr.  W.  W.  McKinney,  Philadelphia    ...  70 

v  From  the  Eev.  Dr.  W.  B.  Noble,  Los  Angeles,  California    .  73 
vi  From  the  Eev.  Dr.  Thomas  A.  McCurdt,  Wilmington, 

Delaware 75 

vii  From  the  Eev.  Dr.  John  W.  Dinsmore,  San  Josfi,  California  78 

viii  From  the  Eev.  Dr.  Egbert  E.  Booth,  New  York 81 

ix  From  the  Eev.  Dr.  F.  F.  Ellinwood,  New  York 83 

x  From  the  Eev.  Dr.  Chauncey  T.  Edwards,  Portville,  New 

York 85 

xi  From  the  Eev.  Dr.  Benjamin  L.  Hobson,  Chicago     ....  87 

Notes 

i  Dr.  Paxton's  Ancestry 91 

ii  Chief  Facts  in  Dr.  Paxton  's  Life 91 

in  Dr.  Paxton's  Churches 92 

iv  Dr.   Paxton's   Publications 93 

v  Dr.  Paxton  in  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle 97 

vi  Dr.  Paxton  at  Pittsburgh 100 

vii  Dr.  Paxton  at  the  Western  Theological  Seminary    .     .     .  104 

viii  Dr.  Paxton  at  the  First  Church,  New  York 105 

ix  Dr.  Paxton  and  Union  Theological  Seminary 108 

x  Dr.  Paxton  's  Eesignation  from  Princeton  Theological 

Seminary 108 

xi  Dr.  Paxton's  Eightieth  Birthday 110 

xn  Dr.  Paxton  and  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 112 

xiii  A  Memorial  Minute  adopted  by  the  New  York  Presbytery    .  113 
xiv  Necrological  Eeport  presented  to  the  Alumni  Association 

of  the  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  May  9,  1905  .     .  115 


DISCOURSE  AT  THE  FUNERAL  SERVICE,  IN  THE 
FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  PRINCETON, 
NEW  JERSEY,  NOVEMBER  THE  THIRTIETH, 
1904,  BY  THE  REV.  JOHN  DE  WITT,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


DISCOURSE  AT  FUNERAL  SERVICE 

I  shake  with  you,  Christian  friends,  the  great  regret  you 
will  feel  as  I  announce  that  Dr.  Warfield,  who  longer  than 
any  other  of  his  colleagues  has  been  associated  with  Dr. 
Paxton  as  a  professor  in  the  Theological  Seminary,  is  un- 
able to  be  present  to-day  and  to  give  expression  to  our 
deep  and  common  sorrow  in  view  of  the  death  of  this  emi- 
nent minister  of  the  Church  of  God.  At  a  later  day  Dr. 
Warfield  will  deliver  a  discourse  commemorating  his 
character  and  life.  At  this  service,  however,  it  is  fitting 
that  we  refresh  our  memory  of  him  by  a  brief  recital  of 
the  main  facts  of  his  public  life  and  by  noting  some  of  the 
salient  features  of  the  man. 

William  Miller  Paxton  was  born  in  Adams  County,  in 
the  beautiful  southcentral  district  of  Pennsylvania,  not 
far  from  the  southeastern  slope  of  the  first  range  of  the 
Appalachian  Mountains,  and  not  far  from  the  county- 
seat  which  has  given  its  name  to  the  fiercest  and  longest 
battle  of  the  Civil  War.  He  was  born  among  a  people 
partly  British  and  partly  German  in  their  blood,  whose 
social  life  derived  its  charm  from  the  fact  that  the  College 
and  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
were  in  Gettysburg,  and  also  from  that  Gemuthlichkeit, 
which,  if  the  word  cannot  be  translated  into  English,  is 
easily  recognized  by  any  one  who  has  had  the  happiness 
of  living  in  a  town  created  by  a  union  of  British  and  Ger- 
man settlers.  Here  Dr.  Paxton 's  family  had  lived  and 
been  prominent  for  two  generations  when  he  was  born  on 
June  the  seventh,  1824.  His  father,  Colonel  James  Dun- 
lop  Paxton,  was  an  iron  manufacturer,  smelting  the  hema- 

9 


FUNERAL   DISCOURSE 

tite  ore,  of  which  there  were  rich  deposits  in  the  South 
Mountain,  and  refining  and  forging  the  iron  it  yielded. 
Colonel  Paxton  was  a  devout  Christian.  He  was  also  a 
public-spirited  citizen  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  was  hon- 
ored with  high  and  responsible  office  in  connection  with 
the  great  system  of  waterways  which  were  constructed  by 
the  State  just  about  the  time  our  Dr.  Paxton  was  born. 
An  important  part  of  Dr.  Paxton 's  preparation  for  active 
life  he  received  in  his  father's  counting-room  and  at  his 
father's  mines  and  furnace  and  forge. 

An  equally  important  part  of  his  preparation  was  due 
to  the  fact  that  his  grandfather  lived  until  young  Paxton 
reached  manhood.  This  grandfather,  William  Paxton, 
was  a  notable  man  and  minister.  It  was  for  him  as  well 
as  for  his  maternal  grandfather,  William  Miller,  that  Wil- 
liam Miller  Paxton  was  named.  In  his  youth  William 
Paxton  left  his  father's  farm  in  Lancaster  County,  en- 
listed as  a  soldier  of  the  Revolutionary  army,  served  in 
two  campaigns  of  the  war,  and  was  one  of  the  American 
force  in  the  battle  of  Trenton.  After  the  close  of  the  war 
he  studied  for  the  ministry.  He  became  the  pastor  of  the 
Lower  Marsh  Creek  Church  in  the  county  of  Adams  and 
in  the  presbytery  of  Carlisle,  and  continued  in  that  posi- 
tion until  ill  health  compelled  his  resignation  about  four 
years  before  his  death.  This  Dr.  William  Paxton— for 
Dickinson  College  conferred  on  him  that  degree  in  Theol- 
ogy—was not  only  beloved  and  revered  by  his  own  con- 
gregation but  was  a  man  of  large  influence  both  in  the 
community  and  in  the  councils  of  the  church.  We  can 
almost  see  him  in  his  grandson  as  we  read  the  descrip- 
tions of  him  written  by  contemporaries.  ' '  He  was  six  feet 
in  height.  His  features  were  regular.  His  expression 
was  open,  calm,  dignified  and  benevolent.  His  disposition 
was  affectionate.  His  intellect  was  strong,  active  and 
well-balanced." 

10 


FUNERAL   DISCOURSE 

Enjoying  the  life  of  his  father's  home,  and  the  almost 
unbroken  companionship  of  his  grandfather  after  the  lat- 
ter 's  retirement  from  the  pastorate,  Dr.  Paxton  passed 
from  the  preparatory  school  to  Pennsylvania  College  at 
Gettysburg,  where  he  was  graduated  Bachelor  of  Arts  in 
1843.  For  two  years  he  studied  law  with  a  view  to  the 
practice  of  that  profession.  But  in  1845,  believing  him- 
self called  to  the  ministry  of  the  Church,  he  entered 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  and  was  graduated  in 
1848.  He  was  the  last  member  of  the  Seminary  Faculty 
who  enjoyed  the  personal  acquaintance  and  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  Seminary's  first  two  professors— Dr.  Archi- 
bald Alexander  and  Dr.  Samuel  Miller. 

Ordained  in  1848,  he  was  pastor  of  the  Church  in  Green- 
castle,  Pennsylvania,  for  two  years.  He  was  pastor  of  the 
First  Church  of  Pittsburgh  for  fourteen  years,  and  of  the 
First  Church  of  New  York  for  eighteen  years.  While 
pastor  in  Pittsburgh,  he  was  called  to  the  chair  of  Sacred 
Rhetoric  in  Western  Theological  Seminary.  He  filled  it 
for  twelve  years.  While  pastor  in  New  York,  he  was  for 
two  years  lecturer  on  Sacred  Rhetoric  in  Union  Theo- 
logical Seminary.  In  1883  he  became  professor  of  Eccle- 
siastical, Homiletical  and  Pastoral  Theology  in  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary.  He  discharged  the  duties  of  this 
chair  until  1902,  when  on  the  advice  of  his  physician  he 
retired  and  became  Professor  Emeritus.  He  continued, 
however,  to  render  to  the  Seminary  services  of  great 
value  by  lecturing  from  time  to  time  and  by  his  wise  coun- 
sel at  the  meetings  of  the  Faculty. 

Dr.  Paxton  during  his  active  career  filled  an  exception- 
ally large  number  of  important  and  influential  positions 
of  public  trust  and  honor  in  the  Church.  He  was  a  director 
of  Western  Theological  Seminary  when  he  lived  in  Pitts- 
burgh. After  the  reunion  of  the  Presbyterian  Churches, 
when  he  was  living  in  New  York,  he  became  a  director 

11 


FUNERAL   DISCOURSE 

of  Union  Theological  Seminary.  He  was  a  director  of 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  from  1866  to  1883.  He 
was  a  trustee  of  Princeton  University  for  thirty-eight 
years.  For  a  time  lie  was  president  of  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions,  and  for  a  time  president  of  the  Board  of  For- 
eign Missions ;  and  he  continued,  a  member  of  the  latter 
board  until  his  death.  In  1880  he  was  elected  by  a  unani- 
mous vote  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly. 

A  ministerial  career  covering  fifty-six  years,  so  con- 
tinuously and  variously  active,  so  large  in  its  scope,  so 
distinguished  and  influential,  can  be  explained  only  by  ex- 
traordinary gifts  and  attainments.  Some  of  these  we, 
who  have  gathered  at  his  burial,  may  in  gratitude  to  God 
most  fittingly  recall. 

Dr.  Paxton  was  a  man  of  large,  vigorous,  and  well-dis- 
ciplined intellect,  whose  powers  were  healthfully  and 
symmetrically  developed.  Whatever  subjects  he  studied 
he  grasped  firmly.  His  memory  held  facts  and  principles 
with  remarkable  tenacity.  These  he  related  to  each  other 
with  clear  intelligence  and  by  conscientious  labor.  He 
brought  to  this  work  a  judgment  which,  while  always  ad- 
mirable, ripened  into  wisdom  as  the  years  passed  on.  So 
that  oftenest  he  reached  conclusions  in  which  he  could 
rest,  and  which  seldom  needed  amendment.  He  was  not 
a  man  of  impulse.  He  was  not  a  man  who  mistook  his 
impressions  for  convictions.  He  was  a  man  for  counsel ; 
whose  counsel  on  a  wide  range  of  subjects  was  widely 
sought.  Indeed,  it  is  an  interesting  question  whether  by 
his  active  life  he  has  done  more  for  the  high  interests  with 
which  he  was  associated  than  by  his  eminent  services  as  a 
counselor. 

He  was  a  man  of  deep  and  strong  intellectual  convic- 
tions upon  the  subject  of  the  truth  of  Christianity.  His 
study,  after  his  college  course,  of  the  principles  of  the 
Common  Law,  in  the  Commentaries  of  Sir  William  Black- 

12 


FUNERAL   DISCOURSE 

stone  and  in  the  elementary  treatises  on  Pleading  and 
Process  and  the  Law  of  Evidence,  gave  a  character  to  his 
mental  habit  which  was  only  deepened  and  fixed  by  his 
course  in  the  Theological  Seminary.  You  will  not  be 
surprised  to  hear  that  he  saw  Christianity  primarily  as 
truth ;  and  as  truth  embodied  in  a  strong  and  self-consist- 
ent system.  With  such  a  training  under  such  teachers,  it 
was  almost  inevitable  that  he  should  become  a  theologian 
of  large  information  and  settled  opinion;  and  that  his 
homiletical  product  should  reveal  this  character  and 
habit.  Those  of  us  who  have  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing 
him  often  know  well  that  the  strong  foundation,  which 
gave  support  and  outline  and  unity  to  his  discourse,  was 
Christianity  as  a  system  of  truth ;  a  system  which  he  held 
firmly,  and  which,  indeed,  was  valued  by  him  as,  next  to 
his  own  religious  life,  his  most  precious  possession. 

He  had  a  remarkable  gift  of  clear,  precise  and  strong 
as  well  as  graceful  statement.  I  think  it  may  well  be 
doubted  whether,  in  the  pulpit  or  in  the  lecture-room  of 
the  Theological  Seminary,  he  ever  uttered  a  sentence  on  a 
subject  with  which  its  members  were  at  all  familiar,  which 
was  not  at  once  understood  by  his  audience.  And  what 
was  true  of  his  single  statements  was  true  of  his  whole 
discourse.  There  was  always  lucidity  because  there  was 
always  thorough  organization.  That  feature  in  the 
speeches  of  Daniel  Webster  which  the  late  Mr.  Whipple 
seized  upon  for  special  eulogy — I  mean  their  thorough 
organization — was  a  characteristic  trait  of  Dr.  Paxton's 
public  and  academic  speech.  However  complicated  the 
subject  he  was  treating  appeared  to  those  he  was  address- 
ing, it  always  unfolded  itself  in  his  sermon  or  lecture  into 
clear  and  appropriate  lines  of  thought. 

What  the  friends  of  his  grandfather  were  apt  to  dwell 
on  as  a  notable  trait— his  affectionate  disposition— was, 
I  am  sure,  a  native  trait  of  the  man  we  mourn  to-day.    Of 

13 


FUNERAL    DISCOURSE 

course,  as  we  knew  it,  it  had  been  deepened  and,  indeed, 
transfigured  by  the  grace  of  God.  But  grace,  in  Dr.  Pax- 
ton's  case,  wrought  upon  a  natural  gift  congruous  to  the 
Christian  love.  In  this  way  it  came  about,  that  Dr.  Pax- 
ton's  discourses,  primarily  discussions  of  systematic  truth 
as  they  were,  were  suffused  with  a  tenderness  of  feeling 
and  reached  their  climax  in  an  earnestness  of  pleading 
which  reminded  us  of  the  emotion  of  the  Master  when  he 
lamented  the  doomed  Jerusalem.  And  so  blended  were 
the  discussion  and  the  feeling  that  the  discourse  as 
preached  by  the  preacher  became  a  unit  of  great  spir- 
itual power.  To  employ  the  metaphor  of  Dr.  Shedd  when 
describing  such  discourse,  "The  light  was  heat  and  the 
heat  was  light." 

This  Christian  affection,  thus  united  with  a  native  trait, 
revealed  itself  with  great  charm  in  Dr.  Paxton's  social 
life.  And  since  he  was  by  eminence  a  gentleman,  it  be- 
came in  his  intercourse  with  others  courtesy  and  urbanity 
of  the  finest  quality.  On  which,  only  a  day  or  two  since, 
a  lady  of  this  village  pronounced  this  just  eulogy :  "  To 
meet  Dr.  Paxton  casually  in  the  morning  and  talk  with 
him  was  a  benediction  which  blessed  the  entire  day."  So 
we  all  felt.  So  when  he  was  a  pastor  his  parishioners  felt. 
He  was  always  a  faithful,  courteous,  affectionate,  sympa- 
thetic pastor.  I  have  often  thought  of  the  strong  likeness, 
in  this  respect,  between  him  and  an  older  man  whose 
friendship  and  companionship  he  highly  esteemed  and 
greatly  enjoyed  while  living  in  New  York,  and  whose 
portrait  was  always  in  clear  view  in  Dr.  Paxton's  Prince- 
ton study.  I  am  referring  to  that  noble,  saintly,  Christian 
pastor  and  gentleman— whose  memory  may  God  keep 
fresh  in  the  Church— the  late  Dr.  William  Adams. 

Dr.  Paxton's  religious  life  was  sincere  and  profound. 
In  its  expression  in  the  public  offices  of  religion  — in 
prayer,  in  conversation  on  the  great  truths  and  facts  of 

14 


FUNERAL   DISCOURSE 

religion,  in  preaching  the  word  of  God— it  blessed  how 
many  as  a  means  of  grace.  His  most  earnest  thinking, 
his  most  permanent  and  influential  emotions,  his  funda- 
mental activities  were  all  in  the  spiritual  universe.  No 
one  who  knew  him  doubted  that  he  walked  with  God. 

With  these  gifts  and  traits  and  attainments  he  did  a 
great  work  in  the  Church ;  and  he  did  it  with  fidelity ;  and 
he  had  in  a  measure  exceptionally  large  the  favor  of  God 
and  of  men.  His  students  throughout  the  world,  when 
they  learn  that  he  has  been  called  to  his  reward,  will  renew 
their  gratitude  that  he  was  their  teacher.  The  people  to 
whom  he  taught  the  truths  and  ministered  the  consolations 
of  religion  will  remember  with  thanksgiving  not  only  the 
truth  he  taught  them  so  well  but  his  affection  and  sympa- 
thy in  all  the  crises  of  their  lives.  His  friends  will  cherish 
his  memory  as  a  benediction.  The  Church  will  honor  his 
name  as  that  of  one  of  her  distinguished  sons. 

Death  is  the  inevitable  experience  of  every  man.  We 
call  death  the  universal  conqueror.  But  one  thing  death 
cannot  do.  It  cannot  read  its  riddle ;  it  cannot  reveal  its 
meaning.  But  its  meaning  has  been  revealed.  In  the 
presence  of  all  that  remains  here  of  this  finished  life,  our 
hearts,  if  not  our  voices,  sing  the  Church 's  triumphant  an- 
them :  ' '  When  Thou,  0  Christ,  hadst  overcome  the  sharp- 
ness of  death,  Thou  didst  open  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
to  all  believers."  In  the  highest  sense,  he  has  been  re- 
ceived into  that  kingdom.  And  there,  to  his  talents  and 
graces  noblest  occupation  has  been  given  by  Him  who 
has  promised  to  make  his  faithful  servants  rulers  over 
many  things.  Only  his  hope  and  faith  are  gone.  For  his 
hope  has  become  fruition  and  his  faith  has  been  changed 
into  the  open  and  beatific  vision  of  God. 


15 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE,  DELIVERED  BY  AP- 
POINTMENT OF  THE  FACULTY  OF  PRINCETON 
THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,  IN  MILLER  CHAPEL, 
ON  THE  TWENTY-FOURTH  OF  FEBRUARY,  1905, 
BY  THE  REV.  BENJAMIN  B.  WARFIELD,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

We  are  here  to-day  gratefully  to  remember  before  God 
the  life  of  one  of  his  saints.  Up  to  a  good  old  age  he  abode 
among  us,  imitating  his  Master's  example,  going  about 
doing  good.  Our  eyes  see  him  no  more:  he  no  longer 
passes  in  and  out,  showing  us  daily  what  it  is  to  walk  with 
God.  But  our  hearts  are  glad  for  him  yet :  and  we  wish 
to  give  expression  to  our  gratitude  to  God  for  his  gift, 
and  to  recount  the  chief  services  he  has  been  permitted 
to  render  to  the  Church  of  God  on  earth. 

William  Miller  Paxton  was  descended  from  a  godly  an- 
cestry of  thoroughly  Presbyterian  traditions.  As  the 
name  indicates,  the  family  was  of  Berwickshire  origin. 
In  the  branch  of  it  from  which  Dr.  Paxton  sprang  it  was 
Scotch-Irish.  The  earliest  of  his  paternal  ancestors  who 
has  been  certainly  traced— the  fourth  in  ascent  from  him 
— is  found  a  little  before  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury living  in  Bart  township,  Lancaster  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  a  Scotch-Irish  community  which  worshipped  at 
Middle  Octorara  Church.  The  only  son  of  this  founder  of 
the  family  served  as  an  elder  in  that  church ;  and  out  of  it 
came  his  son,  Dr.  Paxton 's  grandfather,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Paxton,  who,  after  having  like  his  father  before  him 
fought  in  the  Revolutionary  War  for  the  liberties  of  his 
country,  enlisted  as  a  soldier  of  Christ  in  the  never-ceas- 
ing conflict  for  righteousness.  Crossing  the  Susquehanna, 
he  was  settled  in  1792  as  pastor  of  Lower  Marsh  Creek 
Church,  in  what  is  now  Adams  County,  Pennsylvania,  and 
there  fulfilled  a  notable  ministry  of  half  a  century 's  dura- 
tion.   Thus  a  new  home  was  given  to  the  family  in  a  region 

19 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

of  remarkable  beauty  and  in  a  community  of  similar  ori- 
gin and  congenial  temperament. 

Dr.  Paxton  always  cherished  a  wholesome  pride  in  his 
ancestral  home  and  his  lineage.  When  he  reckoned 
among  the  felicities  of  Dr.  Francis  Herron's  career  that 
he  was  born  ''beneath  the  shadow  of  Pennsylvania's  lofty 
mountains,  and  reared  amid  the  patriots  of  the  Revolu- 
tion";  and  that  he  was  a  scion  "of  that  illustrious  historic 
race,  the  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians— memorable  in  all 
their  generations  for  their  devotion  to  liberty  and  re- 
ligion, and  ever  ready  to  die  upon  the  battle-field  in  the 
defense  of  the  one  or  to  burn  at  the  stake  as  a  testimony 
for  the  other"— he  spoke  out  of  his  own  consciousness  of 
a  noble  heritage.  And  it  was  a  source  of  constant  delight 
to  him  that,  having  himself  begun  to  study  theology  within 
three  months  of  the  death  of  his  grandfather,  their  com- 
bined ministries  fulfilled  an  almost  continuous  service  in 
the  gospel  of  more  than  one  hundred  years.  Nor  was  this 
continuity  merely  a  matter  of  years.  When  we  read  the 
account  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Paxton  which  his  friend, 
Dr.  McConaugh}T,  has  left  us,  we  seem  almost  to  be  read- 
ing of  our  own  Dr.  Paxton.  The  "benignant  and  intelli- 
gent countenance,"  the  "strong,  vigorous  and  balanced 
intellect, ' '  the  ' '  symmetrically  developed  faculties, "  "  the 
warmth  of  affection, "  "  delicate  sensibility, "  "  chaste  im- 
agination," which  Dr.  McConaughy  signalizes  as  charac- 
teristic of  his  Dr.  Paxton— his  care  and  exactness  in  the 
mental  preparation  of  his  sermons,  the  naturalness  and 
lucidity  of  their  arrangement,  the  thoroughness  of  their 
discussion,  the  freedom,  solemnity,  dignity,  authority, 
grace  of  their  delivery:  have  we  not  seen  all  these  things 
repeated  in  our  Dr.  Paxton?  We  are  told  that  Dr.  Paxton 
was  particularly  fond  of  his  grandfather  and  loved  to  visit 
him  and  be  much  with  him.  We  all  remember  the  affec- 
tionate reverence  with  which  he  always  referred  to  him. 

20 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

We  can  scarcely  be  wrong  in  supposing  that,  in  addition  to 
his  natural  inheritance  from  him,  he  consciously  modeled 
himself  upon  his  example. 

Dr.  Paxton 's  father,  Colonel  James  Dunlop  Paxton, 
was  a  man  of  intelligence  and  enterprise,  of  fine  presence 
and  large  influence  in  the  community,  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  iron,  first  at  Maria  Furnace,  which  was 
situated  at  the  foot  of  South  Mountain,  some  ten  or  twelve 
miles  from  Gettysburg,  and  afterward,  in  partnership 
with  the  Hon.  Thaddeus  Stevens,  at  Caledonia  Iron 
Works,  on  the  pike  between  Gettysburg  and  Chambers- 
burg.  It  was  at  Maria  Furnace  that  William  Miller  Pax- 
ton  was  born,  on  the  seventh  day  of  June,  1824.  His  youth 
was  passed  chiefly  at  Gettysburg,  whither  the  family  had 
removed  that  Mrs.  Paxton,  a  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Wil- 
liam Miller,  might  be  among  her  people  during  a  long  and 
trying  period  of  weak  health.  Here  he  spent  a  sunny  and 
gay-tempered  boyhood,  winning  affection  on  all  sides  by 
the  brightness  of  his  disposition  and  his  happy,  fun-loving 
humor.  Here  also  he  received  both  his  primary  school- 
ing and  his  collegiate  training,  the  latter  at  Pennsylvania 
College— recently  founded,  it  is  true,  but  already  occupy- 
ing an  enviable  position  among  colleges  under  the  efficient 
presidency  of  the  Eev.  Dr.  Charles  Philip  Krauth.  In 
college  he  enjoyed  the  fellowship  of  a  choice  company  of 
young  men  who,  like  himself,  were  to  give  a  good  account 
of  themselves  in  the  future  as  ministers  of  Christ— Lu- 
therans like  B.  M.  Schmucker  and  J.  P.  Benjamin  Sadt- 
ler,  President  of  Muhlenberg  College ;  Episcopalians  like 
Robert  Harper  Clarkson,  Bishop  of  Nebraska;  Presby- 
terians like  G.  W.  McMillan,  missionary  to  India,  and  J. 
B.  Bittinger,  teacher  and  preacher.  Among  his  fellow- 
students  were  also  at  least  two  who  were  to  serve  the 
church  efficiently  as  professors  of  theology,  Henry  Zieg- 
ler,  of  Selins  Grove,  and  James  A.  Brown,  who  taught 

21 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

theology  for  nearly  twenty  years  at  Gettysburg.  Gradu- 
ated in  1843,  he  carried  away  from  college  a  reputation 
for  rare  social  qualities  and  great  gifts  in  oratory. 

Residing  now  at  Caledonia  Iron  Works,  he  began  the 
study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  George  Chambers  at 
Chambersburg.  He  had  not  yet  given  himself  to  Christ. 
During  his  last  year  in  college  the  institution  was  visited 
by  a  most  blessed  revival ;  and  during  his  period  of  law 
study  the  community  was  moved  to  its  centre  by  another, 
in  which  his  chief,  Judge  Chambers,  for  example,  was  con- 
verted. He  seems  to  have  passed  through  both  without 
reaching  a  decision.  How  the  great  change  came  to  him 
at  last  we  do  not  know  in  any  detail.  We  only  know  that 
the  grace  of  God  was  in  part  mediated  to  him  through  the 
offices  of  his  devout  sister,  and  that  after  prosecuting  the 
study  of  law  for  almost  two  years,  he  united  on  profession 
of  faith  with  the  Falling  Spring  Presbyterian  Church  at 
Chambersburg,  in  March,  1845.  Dr.  Daniel  McKinley 
was  pastor  of  the  church;  and  we  hear  from  Dr.  Paxton's 
associates  of  those  days  much  about  his  affectionate  in- 
timacy with  his  pastor.  Not  more  than  a  month  after 
uniting  with  the  church,  on  April  the  ninth,  1845,  he  was 
received  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle  as  a 
candidate  for  the  gospel  ministry,  and  in  the  ensuing 
autumn  he  repaired  to  Princeton  for  his  theological  train- 
ing. It  would  appear  from  this  that  when  he  gave  him- 
self to  his  Lord  he  gave  himself  completely,  holding 
nothing  back. 

We  are  not  unprepared,  therefore,  to  learn  that  he  took 
his  seminary  course  seriously;  and  sought  to  utilize  to 
the  full  the  opportunities  it  brought  him  to  prepare  for  the 
great  work  to  which  he  had  devoted  himself.  Although 
so  young  a  Christian,  he  appears  to  have  stood  out  among 
his  comrades  from  the  first  for  the  depth  and  fervor  of  his 
religious  life.    Those  were,  indeed,  days  of  searching  of 

22 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

heart  for  him.  "I  well  remember,"  he  has  told  us  him- 
self, "that  when  I  was  a  student,  no  young  man  could  pass 
through  his  first  year  without  being  constrained  to  re- 
examine his  personal  hope  and  motives  for  seeking  the 
sacred  office."  No  doubt  this  is  primarily  an  encomium 
upon  the  pungency  of  the  religious  teaching  of  those  four 
great  men  under  whose  instruction  he  sat— Drs.  Archi- 
bald Alexander  and  Samuel  Miller,  Drs.  Charles  Hodge 
and  Addison  Alexander.  But  it  is  a  leaf,  also,  out  of  his 
spiritual  autobiography.  His  fellow-students  bear  con- 
sentient witness  to  the  singleness  of  his  purpose,  the  seri- 
ousness of  his  character,  the  dignity  of  his  bearing,  and 
the  attractiveness  of  his  personality.  "He  was  a  hard 
student,"  writes  one,  "industrious  and  painstaking;  as 
a  man,  solid  and  judicious,  and  hence  wielding  much  in- 
fluence over  men. ' '  Another  touches  the  heart  of  the  mat- 
ter when  he  remarks  that  he  had  obviously  said  to  himself, 
"This  one  thing  I  do."  "He  did  not  fritter  away  his 
time,"  continues  this  informant;  "he  made  theology,  the 
grandest  of  the  sciences,  his  study,  and  how  to  deliver  the 
gospel  message  most  effectively. "  "  The  memory  of  what 
Paxton  was,"  he  adds,  "and  of  his  devotion  to  theology 
and  to  his  Lord  and  Master,  has  remained  with  me,  and 
has  been  a  distinct  and  decided  help  to  me  in  my  weakness 
and  in  my  times  of  doubt  and  difficulty. ' ' 

One  of  the  things  Dr.  Paxton  always  congratulated  him- 
self upon  was  that  he  had  had  a  double  training  in  the- 
ology. "The  class  to  which  I  belonged,"  he  tells  us, 
"heard"  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander's  "lectures  upon 
Didactic  Theology  as  well  as  those  of  Dr.  Hodge.  Dr. 
Hodge  gave  us  a  subject  with  massive  learning,  in  its 
logical  development,  in  its  beautiful  balance  and  connec- 
tion with  the  whole  system.  Dr.  Alexander  would  take 
the  same  subject  and  smite  it  with  a  javelin,  and  let  the 
light  through  it.    His  aim  was  to  make  one  point  and  nail 

23 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

it  fast.  I  always  came  from  a  lecture  with  these  words 
ringing  through  my  mind,  'A  nail  driven  in  a  sure 
place.'  "  But  his  devotion  to  the  study  of  theology  was 
more  than  matched  by  his  zeal  in  cultivating  the  art  of 
presenting  its  truths  in  strong,  clear  and  winning  public 
address.  A  doctrinal  preacher  he  wished  to  be,  because 
he  felt  to  the  core  of  his  being  that  it  is  useless  to  preach 
at  all  unless  you  preach  the  truth.  But  the  real  end  of  his 
study  of  doctrine  was  that  he  might  become  a  doctrinal 
preacher.  He  had  no  sympathy  with  that  kind  of  doc- 
trinal preacher  which  he  called,  not  without  a  touch  of 
contempt,  "a  theological  grinder";  and  whose  procedure 
he  described  as  ' '  crushing  and  pulverizing  truth  between 
logical  millstones,  and  then  doling  it  out,  grain  by  grain, 
particle  by  particle,  as  if  the  bread  of  heaven  were  scarce, 
and  the  minister  restricted  to  a  slow  and  frugal  distribu- 
tion." He  longed  to  become  himself  a  preacher  who 
could  preach  doctrine— as  he  put  it— "all  ablaze,"  who 
could  ' '  put  the  light  of  his  own  living  experience  inside ' ' 
the  doctrine,  and  "make  it  a  spiritual  transparency" 
which  would  ' ' interest  and  attract. "  "A  heart  that  is  full 
of  Christ,"  he  said,  "will  gild  every  doctrine  with  the  halo 
of  His  glory. ' ' 

With  this  ideal  held  steadily  before  him,  he  spared  no 
labor  in  perfecting  himself  in  the  art  of  orally  presenting 
truth.  Already  in  college,  we  will  remember,  he  had  ex- 
hibited marked  oratorical  gifts:  and  during  the  interval 
between  college  and  seminary  he  had  exercised  these  gifts 
in  political  speaking.  Now,  however,  he  set  himself  de- 
finitively to  develop  them  to  their  utmost  capacity.  His 
sister  remembered  all  her  life  his  diligence  on  his  visits 
home  in  the  training  of  his  voice :  there  was  a  jutting  rock 
on  the  mountain-side  to  which  he  would  resort  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  which  lived  in  her  memory  as  her  "brother's 
pulpit."    His  fellow-students  noted  not  only  the  diligence 

24 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

but  the  success  of  his  efforts.  ' '  When  he  was  to  preach 
or  to  conduct  a  prayer  service, ' '  one  of  them  writes,  * '  we 
students  were  always  present,  and  we  all  expected  he 
would  make  a  great  and  popular  preacher. ' '  There  was 
one  special  occasion  for  the  exercise  of  his  gifts  arising 
in  the  course  of  his  senior  year,  to  which  he  looked  back 
as  to  a  kind  of  epoch  in  his  life.  It  was  in  the  month  of 
February,  1848.  A  precious  work  of  grace  was  going  on 
in  the  Tennent  Church,  and  Dr.  Alexander  was  applied  to 
for  aid.  He  sent  three  students,  of  whom  Dr.  Paxton  was 
one ;  and  unexpectedly  to  themselves  they  were  thrust  into 
the  thick  of  the  work.  "The  blessing  that  rested  upon 
the  people,"  said  Dr.  Paxton  in  relating  it,  "seemed  to 
fall  on  us. ' '  The  way  one  of  his  fellow- students  puts  it  is, 
' '  They  conducted  the  services  with  marked  success. ' ' 

As  his  seminary  life  drew  to  its  close,  it  became  evident 
enough  that  such  a  young  man  would  not  go  begging  for 
a  pulpit.  Calls  came  to  him  unsought  and  even  somewhat 
embarrassingly.  But  the  people  of  his  own  region  who 
knew  him  well  had  been  wise  enough  to  forestall  all  others. 
Already,  on  the  sixteenth  of  February,  1848, ' '  the  congre- 
gation of  East  Conococheague,  commonly  known  as  Green- 
castle,"  had  sent  him  a  hearty  call  and  had  received  as- 
surances of  his  acceptance.  He  was  on  the  field  as  soon 
as  the  seminary  closed,  and  was  formally  ordained  and  in- 
stalled on  the  fourth  day  of  the  ensuing  October.  He  was 
only  twenty-four  years  of  age,  but  was  far  from  a  callow 
and  unformed  youth.  One  who  knew  him  well  describes 
him  as  at  the  time  ' '  a  remarkably  handsome  young  man 
of  a  commanding  presence,  a  superb  figure,  with  beautiful 
eyes  and  a  splendid  voice."  He  was  already  a  "great 
sermonizer,"  to  whom  large  congregations  listened  "with 
almost  breathless  attention."  It  is  interesting  to  learn 
that  he  had  already  worked  out  that  peculiar  method  of 
preparing  his  sermons  which  he  employed  throughout 

25 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

life-—" walking  them  out,"  as  he  expressed  it,  that  is, 
mentally  composing  them  while  he  paced  back  and  forth  in 
his  study,  thereby  wearing  a  pathway  in  the  carpet  which 
observant  visitors  used  to  amuse  themselves  tracing  out. 
"In  18-49-1850,"  writes  my  informant,  "I  was  teaching 
in  the  Chambersburg  Academy,  and,  as  a  licentiate,  was 
supplying  the  church  at  Fayetteville,  five  miles  out.  Mr. 
Paxton's  kindness  of  heart  and  friendliness  were  exhib- 
ited in  this,  that  he  was  willing  to  come  and  preach  for  me. 
.  .  .  After  dinner  Paxton  said  to  me,  'I  must  be  alone 
this  afternoon,  to  make  my  preparation  to  preach  this 
evening.'  He  told  me  he  had  selected  Romans  3:19  for 
his  text.  He  spent  a  couple  of  hours,  perhaps  more,  walk- 
ing to  and  fro  in  the  little  parlor,  arranging  his  heads  of 
discourse,  gathering  his  illustrations,  and  going  over  the 
words  and  sentences  that  he  would  use— without  a  book, 
save  the  Bible,  without  a  scrap  of  paper,  without  pen  or 
pencil.  That  a  man  could  do  such  a  thing  and  then  preach 
such  a  grand  and  thrilling  sermon  as  we  heard  that  even- 
ing filled  me  with  astonishment." 

The  church  of  Greencastle  was  one  of  those  good  old 
churches  characteristic  of  the  region,  with  a  membership 
at  the  time  of  about  two  hundred  and  paying  a  salary  of 
six  hundred  dollars.  The  reportable  results  of  the  young 
minister's  labors  during  his  two  years  of  work  there  were 
twenty-one  additions  on  confession  of  faith,  the  first  fruits 
of  the  great  number  of  six  hundred  and  ten  of  whom  it 
was  his  privilege  to  become  thus  the  spiritual  father  be- 
fore the  ministry  thus  inaugurated  reached  its  close,  yield- 
ing an  average  of  about  eighteen  for  each  year  of  his 
active  work.  From  Greencastle  he  was  transferred  to 
Pittsburgh  at  the  end  of  the  year  1850,  and  was  formally 
installed  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Pittsburgh  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  the  following  January. 
This  new  church  was  but  little  larger  in  mere  number  of 

26 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

communicants  than  the  one  he  had  left,  but  it  was  of  in- 
definitely more  importance,  possessing,  indeed,  a  truly 
metropolitan  influence  and  burdened  with  thronging  met- 
ropolitan responsibilities.  We  cannot  stay  to  tell  the 
story  of  the  young  pastor's  reception.  Suffice  it  to  say 
that  the  new  pastorate  was  most  auspiciously  begun,  and 
its  very  first  months  were  marked  by  a  work  of  grace 
which  had  scarcely  died  away  before  it  was  followed  by 
another  and  stronger  wave  of  interest  which  not  only 
added  largely  to  the  membership  of  the  church,  but 
greatly  increased  the  fervor  of  its  religious  life  and  the 
energy  of  its  Christian  activity.  The  membership  grew 
steadily  throughout  the  pastorate  from  two  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  at  its  beginning  to  four  hundred  and  forty-six 
at  its  close.  And  membership  in  Mr.  Paxton's  church— 
or  now,  since  Jefferson  College  had  honored  itself  by  con- 
ferring upon  him  in  1860  the  degree  of  D.D.,  we  must  say 
Dr.  Paxton's— meant  something.  In  reaction  against  the 
abounding  wickedness  of  a  great  city,  the  ideal  of  Chris- 
tian living  was  cast  very  high  in  the  First  Church  of  Pitts- 
burgh, and  very  strict  obligations  were  laid  upon  its  mem- 
bers. From  1860  its  protest  against  the  prevalent  laxity 
was  embodied  in  a  distinct  understanding  that  communing 
members  should  abstain  from  such  worldly  amusements 
as  the  opera,  theatre,  circus,  cards.  The  measure  had  at 
least  the  effect  of  compacting  the  membership  into  an  effi- 
cient body  of  serious  men  and  women  who  were  in  earnest 
in  the  development  of  their  own  spiritual  lives,  and  effec- 
tive in  the  campaign  against  vice.  An  outward  sign  of  the 
prosperity  of  the  church  was  the  building  of  a  handsome 
new  edifice  in  the  opening  years  of  the  pastorate.  But 
this  was  only  one  landmark  of  a  constant  growth  in 
strength  and  influence  through  these  eventful  years. 

To  appreciate  how  eventful  these  years  were  we  need 
only  to  remind  ourselves  that  within  their  compass  fell  the 

27 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

great  Civil  War,  and  to  recall  what  that  war,  quite  apart 
from  the  upheaval  it  wrought  in  the  whole  land,  meant  es- 
pecially for  the  expansion  of  Pittsburgh.  The  anxieties, 
the  responsibilities,  the  labors  that  were  cast  at  such  a 
time  upon  such  a  church  and  upon  such  a  pastor,  it  is  diffi- 
cult for  us  in  these  quieter  times  adequately  to  estimate. 
It  is  enough  to  say  that  the  strain  was  borne  by  congrega- 
tion and  pastor  with  unfailing  dignity  and  success.  Dr. 
Paxton's  personal  attitude  during  this  great  struggle  was 
that  of  a  convinced  and  enthusiastic  loyalist.  In  the  me- 
morial sermon  preached  upon  his  predecessor  in  the  pas- 
torate of  the  church,  Dr.  Herron,  who  died  on  the  eighth  of 
December,  1860,  he  already  passionately  asserts  the  "sa- 
credness  of  the  compact  which  bound  these  States  to- 
gether." He  was  not  a  member  of  the  Assembly  of  1861, 
and  I  do  not  know  what  he  thought  of  the  famous  ' '  Spring 
Resolutions"  passed  there.  Possibly,  like  Dr.  Charles 
Hodge  and  Dr.  Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  that  they  were 
ultra  vires.  But  if  so,  this  did  not  in  his  case,  any  more 
than  in  theirs,  affect  his  profound  conviction  of  the  right- 
eousness, nay,  the  sacredness,  of  the  principles  asserted 
in  those  resolutions.  In  the  Assembly  of  1862,  accord- 
ingly—now, alas!  no  longer  the  Assembly  of  the  whole 
land— he  cast  his  vote  for  Dr.  Breckinridge's  paper  on 
' '  The  State  of  the  Church  and  of  the  Country, ' '  in  which 
much  the  same  ground  was  taken. 

On  the  succeeding  Thanksgiving  Day— November  the 
twenty-eighth,  1862— he  preached  a  striking  sermon,  in 
which  sounds  the  note  not  only  of  courageous  but  of  opti- 
mistic loyalty,  that  appears  to  have  rung  through  his 
whole  life  in  those  dark  days.  I  refer  to  this  sermon  here 
that  I  may  take  from  it  a  clause  which  suggests  an  in- 
teresting incident  in  Dr.  Paxton's  life,  in  which  some  of 
the  primary  traits  of  his  character  are  revealed.  I  do  not 
quote  this  clause,  you  will  observe,  as  a  characteristic  one : 

28 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

it  is  quite  possible  that  in  calmer  days  Dr.  Paxton  might 
have  modified  its  phraseology.  He  is  speaking  of  the  last 
months  of  Mr.  Buchanan's  administration,  and  he  char- 
acterizes them,  shortly,  as  a  period  when  "  imbecility  filled 
the  Presidential  chair."  Now  in  the  closing  chapter  of 
Mr.  George  Ticknor  Curtis'  "Life  of  James  Buchanan" 
you  will  find  a  beautiful  letter  from  Dr.  Paxton,  describ- 
ing how,  in  August,  1860,  when  events  were  already  has- 
tening to  the  dreadful  gulf  which  was  opening  before  the 
nation— after  the  division  of  the  Democratic  party  had 
been  hopelessly  accomplished  and  the  election  of  the  Be- 
publican  candidate  was  practically  assured,  and  after  the 
speech  of  July  the  ninth,  in  which  Mr.  Buchanan  cast  in 
his  lot  with  the  Southern  wing  of  the  Democracy— Dr. 
Paxton  held  repeated  earnest  conferences  with  Mr.  Bu- 
chanan on  the  nature  of  experimental  religion  and  the 
significance  of  a  profession  of  faith  in  Christ,  and  re- 
ceived from  him  assurances  of  his  trust  in  the  Saviour 
and  of  his  purpose  of  soon  uniting  with  the  church.  It 
is  like  an  oasis  in  a  thirsty  land  to  fall  upon  this  record 
of  faithful  pastoral  work  in  the  midst  of  those  tumultuous 
years.  What  a  light  it  throws  upon  the  intensity  of  Dr. 
Paxton 's  political  convictions,  that  fresh  from  these  in- 
timate interviews,  in  which  his  own  heart  had  been  aglow 
with  Christian  love,  his  judgment  of  his  interlocutor's 
political  policy  remained  absolutely  unaffected!  But, 
above  all,  what  a  sense  we  obtain  of  his  absorption  in  his 
pastoral  functions !  It  is  a  beautiful  sight  to  see  him,  in 
the  midst  of  that  violent  campaign,  when  men's  passions 
were  stirred  to  their  depths  with  political  rancor,  sitting 
quietly  in  conference  with  a  political  opponent  whose  dis- 
praise was  not  only  on  the  lips  of  all  his  companions  but 
embedded  deeply  in  his  own  heart,  conversing  with  him 
day  by  day  on  the  serious  concerns  of  the  soul,  and  never, 
apparently,  even  tempted  to  permit  the  feelings  engen- 

29 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

defed  by  the  political  strife  to  mar  the  perfection  of  his 
pastoral  attitude,  or  to  distort  his  judgment  of  the  purity 
of  heart  of  his  distinguished  disciple.  "I  have  never  en- 
tertained a  doubt  of  the  entire  honesty  of  Mr.  Buchanan's 
religious  impressions,"  he  testifies  years  afterward,  "or 
of  the  reality  of  his  religious  convictions." 

No  doubt  the  pastoral  instinct  and  skill  revealed  in  such 
an  incident  had  much  to  do  with  the  fruitfulness  of  his 
Pittsburgh  pastorate.  But  above  everything  else  Dr.  Pax- 
ton  was,  in  those  Pittsburgh  days,  the  preacher.  Coming 
to  them  in  his  youthful  vigor,  he  yet  brought  with  him  a 
perfected  homiletical  art.  From  the  beginning  he  easily 
took  rank  among  the  first  preachers  of  the  two  cities,  al- 
though there  were  numbered  among  them  men  like  Drs. 
Swift  and  Howard,  Drs.  Plumer  and  Kendall,  Drs.  Ja- 
cobus and  Wilson,  every  one  of  them,  as  one  of  their 
constant  hearers  phrases  it,  "a  prince  unrivaled  in  his 
own  style  and  manner."  Dr.  Paxton's  special  "style  and 
manner"  involved  the  most  elaborate  preparation,  and 
particularly  the  most  exact  attention  to  the  structure  of 
his  sermons.  Some  felt  that,  as  a  result,  they  were  apt  to 
be  even  "faultily  faultless,"  and  to  sacrifice  something 
of  fervor  to  methodical  development  and  grace  of  expres- 
sion. This  was  not,  however,  the  general  opinion:  his 
audience-room  was  ever  crowded  with  eager  hearers,  and 
he  was  sought  after  on  every  hand  for  those  occasional 
addresses  for  which  chaste  speech  is  essential.  The 
themes  he  chose  were  ordinarily  "those  that  lie  at  the 
heart  of  the  Gospel."  "He  always  gave  himself  plenty 
of  time,  and  as  a  rule  took  the  full  hour."  "He  set  his 
sermon  squarely  on  his  text  as  a  tree  stands  on  its  tap- 
root: sent  out  smaller  roots  all  through  the  context:  the 
trunk  was  short  and  stocky ;  then  he  threw  out  the  great 
branches,  following  each  to  its  smaller  limbs  and  even 
twigs,  until  his  sermon  stood  complete  and  symmetrical 

30 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

and  stately  like  one  of  the  great  live-oaks  of  California." 
''His  literary  style,"  continues  my  informant,  "was 
clear,  methodical  and  elevated.  His  appearance,  address 
and  action  in  the  pulpit  were  those  of  an  Apollo.  A  more 
graceful  man  I  have  never  seen  in  pulpit  or  on  platform. 
Tall,  slender,  erect,  faultlessly  attired,  every  motion  was 
easy,  natural,  dignified  and  all  in  perfect  taste."  Such 
was  Dr.  Paxton  in  his  prime,  as  he  appeared  in  the  pulpit 
—a  model  preacher,  worthy  of  all  imitation  in  matter  and 
manner  alike,  while  in  the  art  of  "dividing  a  text"  he  was 
looked  upon  as  beyond  the  possibility  of  imitation. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  he  was  greedily  coveted  by  the 
seminary  over  in  Allegheny?  Surely  he  had  been  des- 
tined and  trained  just  that  he  might  teach  young  men 
how  to  preach !  The  opportunity  to  secure  his  services 
for  this  great  work  opened  at  last,  we  may  well  believe, 
somewhat  unexpectedly.  The  authorities  of  Princeton 
Seminary  appeared  at  the  Assembly  of  1860  with  a  re- 
quest that  a  fifth  professor  be  granted  them— a  Profes- 
sor of  Sacred  Rhetoric.  As  they  came  with  the  endow- 
ment of  the  chair  in  their  hands,  the  request  could 
scarcely  be  denied.  The  authorities  of  the  Western  Semi- 
nary at  Allegheny,  however,  felt  they  must  not  be  outdone 
by  Princeton ;  and  they  succeeded  in  persuading  Dr.  Pax- 
ton  to  undertake  the  teaching  of  sacred  rhetoric  in  that 
institution  as  its  fifth  professor.  But  as  they  had  no 
funds  provided  for  his  support,  with  characteristic  gen- 
erosity he  gave  his  services  to  the  seminary  for  the  whole 
period  of  his  occupancy  of  the  chair  (1860-1872)  entirely 
gratuitously. 

Precisely  what  the  directors  of  the  Western  Theo- 
logical Seminary  desired  of  Dr.  Paxton,  and  precisely 
what  he  undertook  at  their  importunity,  was  to  come  and 
teach  the  students  to  preach  as  he  preached.  They  saw 
in  him  a  model  preacher,  into  the  likeness  of  whom  they 

31 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

earnestly  desired  that  their  students  might  be  moulded. 
He  saw  in  the  task  that  had  come  to  him  unsought  an 
opportunity,  not  to  philosophize  upon  the  principles  that 
underlie  the  homiletical  art,  nor  to  discuss  the  nature 
of  preaching  as  a  literary  form,  but  simply  to  show  the 
young  men  gathered  in  the  seminary  how  to  do  it.  If 
there  ever  was  a  preacher  in  the  chair  of  preaching,  it  was 
Dr.  Paxton.  At  the  first,  indeed,  it  may  well  have  seemed 
to  the  Allegheny  students  that  there  was  little  essential 
difference  between  his  lectures  and  the  sermons  they  were 
flocking  to  hear  from  him  Sabbath  by  Sabbath  over  in 
Pittsburgh.  He  opened  his  course  with  a  series  of  what 
may  very  well  be  called  sermons  on  the  preachers  of  the 
Bible,  beginning  with  Enoch  and  running  regularly  down 
to  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  — sermons  marked  by  all 
that  closeness  of  scrutiny  of  the  text,  faithful  eliciting  of 
its  substance  and  powerful  application  of  its  lessons  which 
characterized  all  his  preaching.  Only,  as  he  was  now  ad- 
dressing not  a  general  audience  but  a  body  of  prospective 
preachers,  the  lessons  which  he  pressed  upon  their  con- 
sciences were  lessons  for  preachers.  In  reading  over  the 
notes  of  these  lectures,  I  have  been  deeply  impressed  by 
their  value  as  a  preparation  for  entering  upon  a  formal 
study  of  homiletics.  Account  for  it  as  we  may,  the  study 
of  the  formal  arts  is  apt  to  be  approached  by  students  in 
a  somewhat  light  spirit;  and  even  what  we  call  "sacred 
rhetoric"  has  not  always  escaped  this  fate.  I  cannot  con- 
ceive, however,  a  serious-minded  student  approaching  the 
temple  through  the  propylaenm  which  these  opening  ser- 
mons of  Dr.  Paxton 's  built  for  it  without  putting  the 
sandals  once  for  all  off  his  feet.  And  I  am  disposed  to 
think  that  a  large  part  of  the  power  exerted  by  Dr.  Paxton 
as  a  teacher  of  homiletics  was  due  to  the  success  with 
which  he  induced  and  maintained  in  his  pupils  a  sense  of 
the  holiness  and  responsibility  of  a  preacher's  function. 

32 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

With  all  the  attention  he  gave  to  their  form,  sermons  after 
all  were  to  him  interesting  chiefly  because  of  their  sub- 
stance and  of  their  purpose :  and  he  kept  his  students  con- 
stantly aware  of  the  sacredness  of  their  substance  and 
the  holiness  of  their  purpose.  When  he  tells  them  in  these 
opening  lectures  that  "the  true  idea  of  preaching  is  the 
explanation  of  the  Word  of  God"— that  "the  object  of 
preaching  is  nothing  else  but  to  make  clear  what  the  Lord 
has  taught"— he  sounds  the  key-note  of  his  entire  homi- 
letical  instruction. 

When,  these  introductory  lectures  being  over,  Dr.  Pax- 
ton  passes  to  the  direct  inculcation  of  the  art  of  sacred 
rhetoric,  his  main  characteristic  as  a  teacher  of  homilet- 
ics  springs  at  once  into  its  fullest  manifestation.  I  mean 
his  intense  practicality.  The  lectures  are  analytical  and 
precise :  the  entire  subject  of  sacred  rhetoric  is  developed 
in  them  with  formal  completeness :  but  the  whole  tone  and 
effect  are  those  of  a  master-workman  training  his  appren- 
tices in  the  practice  of  an  art.  It  is  perfectly  clear  that 
Dr.  Paxton  is  simply  showing  his  pupils  how  to  do  what 
he  has  himself  been  accustomed  to  do  with  so  great  suc- 
cess; taking  them  into  his  confidence,  so  to  speak,  and 
making  them  free  of  the  secrets  of  the  trade.  And  this 
effect  is  powerfully  reinforced  by  another  striking  ele- 
ment in  his  teaching — what  we  may  call  its  empirical 
basis.  Discarding  all  a  priori  theorizing  as  to  what  a 
sermon  ought  to  be,  he  had  set  himself  to  make  a  survey 
of  the  existing  sermonic  literature  with  a  view  to  ascer- 
taining what,  as  an  actual  fact,  good  sermons  are.  His 
enunciations  of  the  principles  of  sermon-building  had  in 
them,  therefore,  the  vitality  that  comes  from  touch  with 
the  real. 

The  results  of  his  exhaustive  study  of  English  sermonic 
literature  he  incorporated  especially  in  lectures  on  the 
various  methods  of  unfolding  themes  and  later  on  the 

33 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

several  classes  of  sermons.  These  lectures  may  justly 
be  regarded  as  the  heart  of  his  instruction  in  homiletics. 
He  placed  a  very  high  value  upon  this  elaborate  piece  of 
inductive  work ;  and  if  he  can  be  said  to  have  had  a  hobby 
it  must  be  discovered  in  his  untiring  zeal  for  sermonic 
analysis.  His  own  skill  in  "dividing  a  theme"  was  re- 
markable ;  and  he  held  it  to  be  the  highest  accomplishment 
of  a  preacher  to  possess  the  power  to  distribute  a  text 
into  its  natural  divisions,  so  that  its  entire  message  might 
be  developed  in  an  easy  and  effective  presentation.  He 
therefore  begrudged  no  time  or  labor  spent  in  cultivating 
this  talent  in  his  pupils ;  he  not  only  presented  the  subject 
elaborately  in  his  lectures,  accompanied  with  abundant 
illustration,  but  diligently  trained  his  pupils  in  the  prac- 
tice of  the  art,  and  himself  set  them  an  example  which 
they  might  emulate  but  could  scarcely  hope  to  equal. 

What  now  it  is  particularly  interesting  to  observe  is 
that  all  this  was  just  as  true  of  Dr.  Paxton  the  first  year 
of  his  teaching  at  Allegheny  as  it  was  the  last  year  of  his 
teaching  at  Princeton.  One  of  the  surprises  which  were 
brought  to  me  by  reading  over  the  notes  of  his  first  year's 
lectures  at  Allegheny  was  the  discovery  that  his  elaborate 
scheme  of  sermonic  division  lay  already  complete  in  them. 
Certain  minor  adjustments  were  subsequently  made,  and 
the  illustrative  examples  were  multiplied  and  modified; 
but  the  scheme  is  there  in  its  entirety.  All  this  wide-reach- 
ing study  of  sermonic  literature,  all  this  elaborate  induc- 
tion of  the  proper  structure  of  a  sermon,— it  had  all  been 
carried  through  by  the  young  pastor  for  his  own  personal 
benefit,  and  the  results  were  ready  for  presentation  to  his 
pupils  from  the  first.  This  young  pastor,  you  will  see,  was 
certainly  diligent  in  business,  and  notably  illustrated  in 
his  own  person  the  prescription  for  success  in  sermoniz- 
ing he  was  accustomed  to  give  in  these  words:  "Work! 
work !  work ! ' ' 

34 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

The  teaching  in  the  seminary  at  Allegheny,  it  will  be 
understood,  was  not  instead  of,  but  in  addition  to  the  pas- 
torate in  Pittsburgh.  The  seminary  teaching,  indeed,  con- 
tinued for  some  years  after  the  close  of  the  Pittsburgh 
pastorate.  The  latter  came  to  an  end  in  the  midsum- 
mer of  1865.  The  circumstances  which  brought  it  to  a 
close  recall  us  to  Dr.  Paxton's  private  life.  Here,  too, 
he  filled  out  the  measure  of  a  normal  human  experience 
and  was  not  left  without  the  chastening  of  sorrow. 
Shortly  after  coming  to  Pittsburgh  he  married :  but  soon 
lost  both  wife  and  child.  It  was  not  until  late  in  1855 
(Nov.  8)  that  his  household  was  established  by  a  marriage 
with  one  who  might  well  be  called  a  daughter  of  the  church 
indeed,— Miss  Caroline  Sophia  Denny,  whose  distin- 
guished father,  the  Hon.  Harmar  Denny,  had  served  the 
church  with  rare  devotion  as  an  elder  for  a  generation, 
and  whose  grandfather,  Major  Ebenezer  Denny,  had  been 
identified  with  its  fortunes  almost  from  its  origin.  In  her 
Dr.  Paxton  found  a  modern  example  of  that  ideal  wife  de- 
scribed in  the  closing  chapter  of  Proverbs,  and  of  her  the 
declaration  was  preeminently  true  that ' '  the  heart  of  her 
husband  trusted  in  her. ' '  It  would  be  impossible  to  sepa- 
rate her  part  from  his  in  the  achievements  of  their  joint 
life.  The  oldest  son  of  this  marriage— in  1865  a  boy  ap- 
proaching his  fifth  birthday— was  subject  to  an  asthmatic 
affection  to  which  the  thick  air  of  Pittsburgh  was  fatal. 
There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  seek  a  more  salubrious 
atmosphere.  Feeling  the  need  of  rest  also  for  himself,  Dr. 
Paxton  proposed  to  retire  for  a  season  to  the  prairie  lands 
of  Minnesota,  whither  he  had  been  accustomed  to  resort 
for  recreation  with  his  gun  during  his  summer  vacations. 
But  he  did  not  find  it  easy  to  escape.  So  soon  as  it  was 
known  that  he  was  severing  his  relations  with  the  Pitts- 
burgh church  he  was  besieged  with  applications  for  his 
services.    Among  other  applicants  the  Board  of  Educa- 

35 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

tion  sought  him  for  its  Secretaryship.  He  put  them  all 
resolutely  aside  for  the  meanwhile ;  but  found  them  just 
as  clamant  on  his  return  from  his  vacation.  In  the  end 
he  accepted  a  call  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in 
New  York,  into  the  pastorate  of  which  he  was  formally 
installed  on  February  the  first,  1866. 

In  removing  from  Pittsburgh  to  New  York,  the  centre 
of  gravity  of  his  work,  so  to  speak,  somewhat  changed. 
In  Pittsburgh  everything  ran  up  to  the  pulpit  as  its  head : 
in  New  York  it  was  rather  the  work  of  administration 
which  took  the  central  place.  At  no  other  period  of  his 
life  was  his  preaching  more  admired :  but  the  relative  im- 
portance of  preaching  in  the  impact  of  his  church  on  the 
world  was  less  in  New  York  than  in  Pittsburgh.  The 
First  Church  of  New  York  was  the  centre  of  the  most 
ramified  charities.  It  was  veritably  the  mother  church 
of  the  city,  from  which  flowed  forth  nourishment  for 
every  religious  and  benevolent  enterprise.  ' '  No  one  can 
study  the  history  of  this  church, ' '  Dr.  Paxton  has  himself 
remarked,  "without  being  impressed  and  amazed  at  the 
streams  of  beneficent  influence  that  have  gone  out  from 
this  source,  and  at  the  manner  in  which  this  church  has 
been  intimately  connected  with  all  those  great  moral,  re- 
ligious, benevolent,  philanthropic  and  patriotic  agencies 
which,  from  the  very  earliest  times,  controlled  the  forma- 
tive influences  in  the  growth  and  development  of  this 
great  city."  Not  content  with  lavishing  its  fostering 
care  upon  charitable  organizations— churches,  schools, 
colleges,  seminaries,  hospitals,  asylums— at  home,  and 
becoming  ' '  literally  a  '  fountain  of  living  waters '  "to  the 
Boards  of  the  Church,  it  had  gone  as  far  afield  for  objects 
of  its  beneficence  as  worthy  needs  could  be  discovered. 
"Dr.  Chalmers'  great  schemes  for  the  Church  of  Scotland 
received  their  first  encouragement  here,"  and  through 
many  years  continued  support.    Much  of  the  work  of  the 

36 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

Waldensian  Church  in  Italy  was  made  possible  only  by 
aid  from  this  church,  and  the  theological  seminary  at 
Florence  was  built  from  this  source.  Into  the  midst  of 
this  abundant  stream  of  wisely  directed  beneficence  Dr. 
Paxton  came  in  1866,  when  it  was  running  so  full  that, 
like  Jordan  in  the  time  of  harvest,  it  was  overflowing  all 
its  banks.  The  contributions  of  the  church  to  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  alone  during  his  pastorate  averaged 
nearly  thirty  thousand  dollars  annually  and  aggregated 
more  than  half  a  million.  Other  things  were  in  propor- 
tion. To  name  but  a  single  item,  the  Presbyterian  Hos- 
pital was  rendered  possible  only  by  a  gift  from  Mr.  James 
Lenox.  He,  of  course,  was  the  greatest  giver,  but  not  the 
only  great  giver.  Mrs.  Winthrop,  for  example,  whose 
splendid  bequest  this  seminary  hopes  soon  to  enter  into 
the  enjoyment  of,  placed  a  large  sum  annually  in  Dr.  Pax- 
ton's  hands  to  be  distributed  at  his  discretion. 

As  pastor  of  this  church  Dr.  Paxton  became,  therefore, 
very  much  a  man  of  affairs,  an  almoner  to  the  Church  uni- 
versal. "His  labors  during  this  period,"  as  one  who 
knew  him  well  and  watched  his  work  with  sympathetic  eye 
remarks,  "were  enormous,  and  yet  they  were  transacted 
with  a  kind  of  calmness  and  equipoise  which  never  failed 
to  impress  one  with  the  sense  of  a  great  deal  of  reserve 
power. ' '  As  pastor  of  the  First  Church,  he  was  ex  officio 
a  member  of  the  Boards  of  three  noble  charities :  the  Pres- 
byterian Hospital,  the  Leake  and  Watts  Orphan  House 
and  the  Sailors '  Snug  Harbor.  The  Boards  of  the  Church 
claimed  his  services :  he  was  elected  a  member  of  both  the 
Home  and  Foreign  Mission  Boards;  and  served  the 
former  until  1880,  as  President  from  1876  to  1878;  and 
the  latter  until  his  death,  as  President  from  1881  to 
1884.  While  at  Pittsburgh  he  had,  of  course,  been  a  di- 
rector of  the  Western  Theological  Seminary  (from  1852) ; 
and  he  was  also  a  trustee  of  Jefferson  College   (from 

37 


MEMORIAL   DISCOURSE 

1853).  Coming  to  New  York,  he  substituted  for  these  the 
directorship  of  the  seminary  (from  1866)  and  the  trus- 
teeship of  the  college  (from  1867)  at  Princeton— in  the 
former  of  which  he  served  until  his  election  as  professor 
in  the  institution  (1883),  and  in  the  latter  until  his  death. 
In  addition  he  was  chosen  director  of  Union  Theological 
Seminary  in  1873,  and  served  until  his  removal  to  Prince- 
ton (1884).  His  appointment  as  trustee  of  the  General 
Assembly  (1892)  came  later,  but  may  be  mentioned  here 
for  the  sake  of  completeness.  All  these  positions  of  trust 
he  filled  not  only  with  dignity,  but  with  a  careful  attention 
to  their  duties  and  with  a  wisdom  of  counsel  which  earned 
the  unaffected  admiration  of  his  coadjutors.  In  addition 
to  the  cares  they  brought  him,  he  acted  as  lecturer  on 
Homiletics  and  Sacred  Rhetoric  in  the  Union  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  New  York,  during  the  years  from  1871  to 
1873— repeating  there  his  Allegheny  lectures  to  the  satis- 
faction of  both  the  governors  and  pupils  of  the  institution. 
The  greatest  ecclesiastical  event  which  occurred  during 
Dr.  Paxton's  New  York  ministry  was,  of  course,  the  re- 
union of  the  Old  and  New  School  branches  of  the  Church. 
He  was  of  the  number  of  those  who  did  not  look  witli  sat- 
isfaction on  the  movement  for  union.  Oddly  enough, 
however,  as  a  member  of  the  Assembly  of  1862,  when  cor- 
responding delegates  to  the  New  School  body  were  for  the 
first  time  appointed,  and  of  that  of  1870,  when  the  consum- 
mated union  was  set  upon  its  feet,  he  was  an  active  factor 
in  both  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  movement.  Except 
so  far  as  was  involved  in  becoming  a  signatory  of  the 
Pittsburgh  Circular  of  1868-9, 1  do  not  know  that  he  took 
any  large  part  in  the  debates  of  the  time.  When  once  the 
union  was  accomplished,  however,  he  became  one  of  the 
chief  agents  in  adjusting  the  relations  of  the  two  long- 
separated  bodies.  No  one,  for  example,  was  more  influen 
tial  than  he  at  the  Assembly  of  1870  in  determining  the 

38 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

formal  adjustments.  And  in  general  it  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  his  attitude  of  ' '  loyal  and  affectionate  adherence 
to  the  interests  of  the  united  Church, ' '  and  his  cordial  and 
appreciative  intercourse  with  the  formerly  New  School 
men,  were  among  the  most  powerful  influences  which  were 
working  toward  the  healing  of  old  wounds.  When  he 
came  to  New  York,  very  little  active  fellowship  existed 
between  ministers  serving  in  the  two  Churches:  he  was 
scarcely  more  than  on  the  footing  of  speaking  acquain- 
tance with  his  nearest  ministerial  neighbors  of  the  other 
communion.  Immediately  after  the  union,  however,  all 
this  was  changed.  He  rapidly  formed  close  friendships 
with  his  New  School  colleagues  —  with  Dr.  William 
Adams,  first  of  all,  for  whom  he  cherished  a  boundless 
reverence;  with  Drs.  Henry  B.  Smith,  Thomas  H.  Skin- 
ner, Robert  R.  Booth,  Howard  Crosby,  Charles  H.  Rob- 
inson. He  was,  of  course,  elected  at  once  to  the  famous 
Ministerial  Club,  Chi  Alpha,  where  his  social  intercourse 
with  his  brethren  found  a  centre;  and  even,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  shortly  lecturing  in  Union  Seminary  and  hold- 
ing a  permanent  position  on  its  Board  of  government. 
When,  at  the  unveiling  of  the  tablet  to  Dr.  Archibald  Al- 
exander's memory,  at  Princeton  Seminary,  he  declared  in 
his  half-humorous  way,  "It  is  wicked  now  for  any  one  to 
have  memory  enough  to  recollect  that  there  was  ever  any- 
thing but  one  happy,  undivided  Presbyterian  Church, ' '  he 
preached  nothing  but  what  he  practiced. 

With  the  origin  of  the  General  Presbyterian  Alliance 
also  he  had  a  somewhat  close  connection.  He  was  a  dele- 
gate to  the  first  meeting  of  its  council,  at  Edinburgh  (July, 
1877),  and  delivered  there  an  address  on  Home  Missions 
in  America.  It  fell  to  him  to  preach  the  opening  sermon 
at  the  second  council,  which  met  in  Philadelphia,  Septem- 
ber, 1880.  Meanwhile  he  had  been  sent  to  the  General  As- 
sembly of  1880,  and  had  been  elevated  to  its  moderator- 

39 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

ship  by  acclamation— an  honor  which  has  been  accorded 
to  very  few  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  At  the  opening 
of  the  ensuing  Assembly  (1881)  he  preached  what  seems 
to  me  at  least  an  even  more  notable  sermon  than  the  much- 
admired  discourse  which  he  delivered  at  the  opening  of 
the  Alliance.  These  two  meetings  of  the  Alliance  and  the 
five  Assemblies  which  have  been  adverted  to— those  of 
1860, 1862, 1870, 1880, 1881— seem  to  be  all  those  to  which 
he  was  accredited  as  a  commissioner.  He  never  shirked 
any  duty  that  was  laid  upon  him,  but  he  did  not  seek  the 
supreme  court  of  the  Church  as  his  chosen  field  of  labor. 
He  had  been  twelve  years  in  the  ministry  before  he  was 
sent  to  the  Assembly :  he  remained  twenty-three  years  in 
the  ministry  after  his  last  service  as  a  member  of  the  As- 
sembly. They  were  a  curiously  notable  series  of  Assem- 
blies, however,  in  which  he  served :  1860,  when  the  great 
debate  on  the  organization  of  the  Boards  was  held,  run- 
ning out  in  its  ramifications  into  the  whole  theory  of  Pres- 
byterianism,  and  Drs.  Hodge  and  Thornwell  met  in  ti- 
tanic conflict;  1862,  in  the  midst  of  the  excitement  of  the 
war,  when  the  air  was  palpitant  with  internecine  strife ; 
1870,  when  the  union  between  the  two  Churches  was  given 
effect  in  an  infinite  variety  of  adjustments;  1880  and 
1881,  when  the  debates  on  the  Revised  Book  of  Discipline 
took  place  and  the  reorganization  of  the  Synods  was  ef- 
fected. 

And  now  we  approach  the  last  stadium  of  Dr.  Paxton's 
active  service.  In  1883  he  came  to  Princeton  to  take  up 
the  work  of  the  chair  of  Ecclesiastical,  Homiletical  and 
Pastoral  Theology,  made  vacant  by  the  resignation  of  Dr. 
McGill.  His  church,  which  had  grown  steadily  under  his 
hands  from  the  two  hundred  and  fifty-seven  members  it 
reported  in  1866  to  the  four  hundred  and  nine  it  reported 
in  1883,  and  whose  affection  for  its  pastor  had  grown 
with  the  years,  was  loath  to  give  him  up.    He  himself, 

40 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

to  whom  preaching  was  as  his  vital  breath,  was  loath 
to  give  it  up.  The  professor's  chair  was  no  novelty  to 
him;  but  the  professor's  chair  alone— it  was  difficult  for 
him  to  reconcile  himself  to  that.  One  of  his  early  pupils 
at  Princeton  recalls  a  scene  on  the  occasion  of  a  visit  of 
Mr.  Moody  to  Princeton,  when  Dr.  Paxton  was  with  that 
great  revivalist  in  the  inquiry  room.  ' i  I  see  him  now, ' '  he 
writes,  "his  face  working  with  emotion,  too  much  over- 
come at  one  time  by  his  feelings  to  be  able  to  lead  in 
prayer.  The  next  day  in  the  classroom  he  told  us  he  was 
homesick  for  the  pastorate."  But  God's  work  must  be 
done ;  and  Dr.  Paxton  was  accustomed  to  do  it :  and  he  felt 
at  least  that  next  to  preaching  itself  the  training  of 
preachers  was  the  most  blessed  of  services. 

The  chair  to  which  he  consecrated  the  remainder  of  his 
life,  it  will  be  observed,  was  a  much  more  comprehensive 
one  than  that  which  he  had  occupied  at  Allegheny  and 
New  York.  It  included,  as  he  was  accustomed  to  point 
out,  three  separate  branches  of  instruction.  During  the 
first  years  of  his  occupancy  of  it,  he  naturally  fell  back 
upon  his  Allegheny  lectures  in  Homiletics  and  directed  his 
energies  to  the  creation  of  a  course  of  lectures  in  Church 
Government,  using  meanwhile  in  Pastoral  Theology  a 
text-book,  which  he  supplemented  from  his  own  experi- 
ence. In  1888  and  1889  he  turned  back  to  the  lectures  on 
Homiletics  and  largely  remodeled  them,  retaining,  how- 
ever, permanently  the  core  of  his  Allegheny  lectures.  I 
suppose  we  all  recognize  that  it  was  in  these  Homiletical 
lectures,  supplemented  by  his  practical  drilling  of  the  stu- 
dents in  preaching  and  text-dividing,  that  Dr.  Paxton 's 
work  of  instruction  culminated. 

As  at  Allegheny  so  at  Princeton  it  was  his  practical 
genius  which  informed  all  his  teaching.  No  note  is  struck 
more  persistently  by  his  pupils  in  their  reminiscences  of 
his  classroom  than  this.    Says  one :  "  I  found  his  course 

41 


MEMORIAL   DISCOURSE 

exceedingly  helpful.  I  can  hardly  conceive  of  a  more 
thorough  and  suggestive  series  of  lectures  on  Homiletics 
than  that  which  he  gave  us.  ...  I  found  them  practi- 
cally of  the  greatest  value  in  my  own  work  as  a  preacher ; 
so  much  so  that  when  I  went  to  India  I  delivered  in  Hin- 
dustani the  substance  of  his  course,  in  a  brief  series  to  the 
students  in  the  training-school  for  preachers  with  which 
I  was  connected."  Says  another:  "He  was  eminently  a 
pastor  in  the  pastoral  chair.  The  teaching  was  concrete. 
.  .  .  He  taught  not  so  much  the  philosophy  as  the  art, 
.  .  .  but  with  devotional  spirituality,  on  a  high  level  and 
with  just  balance.  .  .  .  His  teaching  of  ecclesiastical  law 
was  especially  pleasant.  He  was  a  stout  Presbyterian, 
and  bated  no  jot  of  constitution  or  deliverance,  but  he  was 
not  dry  nor  deadly  technical.  He  evidently  knew  the  law 
and  had  seen  its  practical  workings,  but  he  never  forgot 
that  the  great  thing  was  the  life  and  progress  of  the 
Church,  and  that  ecclesiasticism  was  not  an  end  in  itself. ' ' 
Says  yet  another :  ' '  The  most  valuable  part  of  Dr.  Pax- 
ton 's  work,  as  far  as  I  was  concerned,  was  his  Pastoral 
Theology.  Many  of  the  suggestions  he  gave  me  I  found 
to  be  workable  and  helpful.  I  was  especially  helped  by 
his  cautions  what  not  to  do.  I  may  say  that  in  practical 
work  outside  the  pulpit,  Dr.  Paxton  gave  me  more  help 
than  any  one  I  have  ever  known." 

With  all  this,  however,  it  was  not  after  all  his  practical 
genius  which  was  the  chief  note  of  Dr.  Paxton 's  work  in  the 
seminary.  That  was  rather  what  one  of  his  pupils  whom 
we  have  just  quoted  calls  his  "devotional  spirituality." 
Above  everything  else  his  heart  was  set  on  quickening  in 
his  students'  minds  a  sense  of  the  sacredness  of  their 
calling  and  on  fanning  the  fires  of  their  spiritual  life  into 
a  blaze.  A  fervent  and  devoted  heart  he  held  to  be  the 
best  preparation  for  preaching  the  gospel.  His  sermons, 
his  conference  talks— both  of  which  were  greatly  enjoyed 

42 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

by  his  pupils,— his  prayers,  in  which  he  was  mighty  before 
God,  and  indeed  his  whole  intercourse  with  the  student 
body  wrought  together  powerfully  to  this  result.  He  had 
a  happy  habit  of  addressing  a  few  words  to  each  class  at 
the  opening  of  the  scholastic  year,  with  a  view  to  awaken- 
ing thern  to  a  sense  of  their  opportunities  and  responsi- 
bilities as  soldiers  of  Christ.  Some  of  the  memoranda  of 
these  little  addresses  have  got  caught  between  the  leaves 
of  his  lecture-notes,  and  so  have  come  to  our  hands.  Here 
is  a  sample  of  them,  addressed  to  the  senior  class : 

Have  known  you  well  as  Juniors  and  Middlers. 
Congratulate  you  on  your  advancement  as  Seniors. 
Involves  responsibility. 

Influence  of  Senior  Class. 
Think  of  your  position. 
Good  use  of  this  year. 

1.  Try  to  grow  in  piety. 

2.  Don't  trifle  away  time  upon 

Too  much  preaching, 
Seeking  a  call. 

It  is  particularly  needful  to  attend  to  these  traits  in  Dr. 
Paxton's  work  in  the  seminary,  because  there  lay  behind 
them  a  definitely  formed  and  tenaciously  held  theory  of 
the  functions  of  theological  seminaries  which  he  never 
lost  an  opportunity  to  enunciate  and  enforce.  To  him 
theological  seminaries  were  specifically  training-schools 
for  the  ministry,  and  he  earnestly  desired  that  they  should 
be  administered  strictly  on  this  principle  and  to  this  end. 
There  was  nothing  he  feared  more  than  "scholasticism" 
in  our  seminaries.  The  liveliness  of  this  fear,  I  cannot 
but  think,  betrayed  him  now  and  again  into  judgments 
and  expressions  which  were  somewhat  extreme.  He  was 
perfectly  clear  that  the  minister  should  be  soundly  edu- 
cated, and,  indeed,  when  that  is  possible  without  loss 

43 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

of  spiritual  power  or  spiritual  opportunity,  profoundly 
learned:  and  he  was  ready  to  grant  that,  therefore,  rich 
provision  for  communicating  knowledge  must  be  made  in 
our  seminaries.  But  he  was  perhaps  overapt  to  see  the 
spectre  of  " scholasticism' '  lurking  behind  measures  the 
practical  value  of  which  for  the  average  ministerial 
preparation  was  not  immediately  apparent.  After  all 
said,  however,  what  he  took  his  real  stand  upon  was  the 
perfectly  sound  position  that  our  theological  seminaries 
are  primarily  training-schools  for  ministers,  and  must  be 
kept  fundamentally  true  to  this  their  proper  work. 

From  this  point  of  view  he  was  never  weary  of  warn- 
ing those  who  were  charged  with  the  administration  of 
these  institutions  against  permitting  them  to  degenerate 
into  mere  schools  of  dry-as-dust  and,  from  the  spiritual 
standpoint,  useless  learning.  A  very  fair  example  of  his 
habitual  modes  of  thought  and  speech  on  this  subject 
may  be  read  in  the  charge  which  he  delivered  to  his  life- 
long friend,  Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge— whom  he  loved  as  a  bro- 
ther and  admired  as  a  saint  of  God — when  Dr.  Hodge 
was  inaugurated  as  professor  in  this  seminary.  Permit- 
ting himself  greater  freedom,  doubtless,  because  he  knew 
he  was  addressing  one  sympathetic  to  his  contentions,  he 
becomes  in  this  address  almost  fierce  in  his  denunciations 
of  a  scholastic  conception  of  theological  training,  and  in- 
sistent to  the  point  of  menace  in  his  assertion  of  the  higher 
duty  of  the  theological  instructor.  Pointing  to  the  semi- 
nary buildings— he  was  speaking  in  the  First  Church— he 
exclaimed:  "There  stands  that  venerable  institution. 
What  does  it  mean!  What  is  the  idea  it  expresses?  .  .  . 
Is  it  a  place  where  young  men  get  a  profession  by  which 
they  are  to  make  their  living?  Is  it  a  school  in  which  a 
company  of  educated  young  men  are  gathered  to  grind 
out  theology,  to  dig  Hebrew  roots,  to  read  patristic  lit- 
erature, to  become  proficients  in  ecclesiastical  dialectics. 

44 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

to  master  the  mystic  technics  of  the  schoolmen,  and  to  de- 
bate about  fate,  free-will,  and  the  divine  decrees !  If  this 
be  its  purpose,  or  its  chief  purpose,  then  bring  the  torch 
and  burn  it!  .  .  .  "We  do  not  in  any  way  depreciate  a 
learned  ministry.  We  must  have  learning.  .  .  .  But 
whenever  in  a  theological  seminary  learning  takes  the 
precedence,  it  covers  as  with  an  icicle  the  very  truths 
which  God  designed  to  warm  and  melt  the  hearts  of  men. 
.  .  .  No,  no,  this  is  not  the  meaning  of  a  theological 
seminary.  ...  It  is  a  school  of  learning,  but  it  is  also 
a  cradle  of  piety."  Accordingly  he  exhorts  in  almost 
flaming  speech  the  individual  professor  to  look  well  to  his 
personal  responsibility.  Let  no  one  dare  say,  he  cries, 
that  his  business  is  to  teach  only  a  certain  section  of  theo- 
logical science.  His  duty  is  not  merely  the  impartation 
of  "  a  certain  quantum  of  information  on  a  given  subject, " 
but  to  take  his  part  in  the  training  and  inspiring  of  men  to 
save  souls.  ' '  I  stand  here  to-day, ' '  he  solemnly  declares, 
' '  to  say  to  you  and  to  every  member  of  this  faculty, '  This 
is  your  department!'  "  "The  professor's  study  must  be 
a  Bethel  in  direct  communication  with  heaven ;  and  a  theo- 
logical seminary  must  be  a  Bochim  from  which  strong 
cries  for  help  are  constantly  going  up."  Such  was  Dr. 
Paxton  's  ideal  of  a  seminary.  He  preached  it  without  ces- 
sation. And  he  lived  up  to  it.  His  own  study  was  a 
Bethel :  his  own  classroom  was  a  Bochim. 

I  have  said  nothing  about  Dr.  Paxton 's  literary  output. 
It  is  a  subject  which  does  not  suggest  itself  with  reference 
to  him.  The  cacoethes  scribendi  is  a  disease  from  which 
he  was  immune.  He  had  no  literary  ambitions.  His  chosen 
method  of  expression  was  oral:  with  this  I  will  not  say 
merely  he  was  content ;  he  seemed  to  have  even  a  distaste 
for  the  pen  and  a  positive  dislike  for  print.  He  did  not 
write  even  his  sermons ;  and  we  may  be  sure  that  he  wrote 
his  lectures  only  as  a  concession  to  a  hard  necessity.    To 

45 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

write  for  the  sake  of  writing,  to  print  for  the  sake  of 
printing,  would  have  seemed  to  him  almost  a  superfluity 
of  naughtiness.  I  believe  the  only  review  article  he  ever 
printed  was  one  on  "The  Call  to  the  Ministry,"  which  he 
gave  me  for  the  first  number  of  "The  Presbyterian  Re- 
view" of  which  I  was  an  editor;  and  even  that  had  not 
been  written  in  the  first  instance  for  publication.  He  also 
gave  me  for  that  and  the  next  number  a  couple  of  short 
book  notices;  and  later— for  "The  Presbyterian  and  Re- 
formed Review"— a  loving  obituary  tribute  to  his  old 
friend,  Mr.  A.  D.  F.  Randolph.  I  am  very  proud  of  these 
tokens  of  his  regard,  knowing  well  that  nothing  but  affec- 
tion can  account  for  them.  It  could  not  be,  however,  but 
that  some  of  the  sermons  of  a  man  so  justly  famous  for 
his  sermons  should  find  their  way  into  print:  and  natu- 
rally a  number  of  the  occasional  addresses  of  one  so 
sought  after  for  occasional  addresses  failed  to  evade  pub- 
lication. Thus  it  happens  that,  after  all,  a  considerable 
body  of  printed  material  remains  to  preserve  to  us  some 
suggestion  of  this  winning  speaker's  manner.  Some 
thirty  separate  items  have  come  under  my  eye.  Among 
them  perhaps  special  mention  should  be  made  of  his  elabo- 
rate scheme  of  Divisions  of  Sermons,  which  he  permitted 
late  in  life  to  be  printed,  not  published,  for  the  use  of  his 
classes.  Those  who  are  fortunate  enough  to  possess 
copies  of  it  will  feel  that  they  have  in  it  a  part  of  Dr.  Pax- 
ton  himself. 

Dr.  Paxton  was  permitted  to  labor  among  us  here  in 
Princeton  for  a  period  of  twenty  years.  He  had  already 
entered  his  sixtieth  year  when  he  came  to  us  (1883) :  he 
was  approaching  his  seventy-eighth  birthday  when  he  was 
impelled  to  seek  relief  from  his  responsibilities ;  and  he 
had  reached  his  eightieth  year  and  had  completed  the  full 
tale  of  twenty  years  of  service  before  he  ceased  to  deliver 
lectures  in  the  seminary.     The  burden  of  years  as  they 

46 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

gathered  upon  his  shoulders  never  dimmed  his  eye,  or 
bowed  his  form,  or  halted  his  step.  But  yielding  to  the 
requisitions  of  his  physicians,  he  asked  to  be  released 
from  the  cares  of  office  at  the  close  of  the  academic  year  of 
1901-1902.  During  the  protracted  illness  of  Dr.  William 
Henry  Green,  he  had,  in  addition  to  the  conduct  of  his 
chair  of  instruction,  discharged  also  many  of  the  duties  of 
head  of  the  seminary ;  and  from  February  the  tenth,  1900, 
when  Dr.  Green  died,  he  had  been  formally,  as  well  as 
really,  its  head.  What  it  meant  to  him  to  unbuckle  the 
harness  he  had  so  long  worn  no  one  will  ever  fully  know. 
He  has  himself,  in  his  encomium  on  his  predecessor  in  the 
pastorate  of  the  First  Church  of  Pittsburgh,  eloquently 
portrayed  the  trials  which  accompany  such  an  experience. 
If  he  passed  through  such  a  testing  time  it  was  concealed 
from  the  observer.  It  impressed  no  frown  upon  his  brow : 
it  wrung  from  his  heart  no  repining  cry. 

Nor,  in  any  true  sense  of  the  word,  can  it  be  said  that 
his  work  was  over  when  he  turned  away  for  the  last  time 
from  his  classroom  door,  and  descended  forever  the  pul- 
pit steps— that  pulpit  which  had,  through  all  these  years, 
been  his  throne  from  which  he  ruled  as  king.  Changed, 
not  completed,  his  work :  perhaps  we  should  not  even  say 
changed.  For  Dr.  Paxton's  power  always  lay  more  in 
what  he  was  than  in  what  he  did,  and  the  best  of  all  his 
sermons  was  the  sermon  he  preached  by  his  life— by  the 
benignity  of  his  bearing,  the  thoughtful  charity  of  his  in- 
tercourse with  men,  the  very  glow  of  his  serene  counte- 
nance. 

Affectionate  in  look 
And  tender  in  address,  as  well  becomes 
A  messenger  of  grace  to  guilty  men, 

he  was  the  living  embodiment  of  Cowper's  ideal  of  the 
faithful  pastor.     Students  have  declared  that  it  was  a 

47 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

benediction  simply  to  sit  in  the  oratory  of  Stuart  Hall 
and  look  upon  his  devout  countenance  as  he  sat  on  the 
platform.  Ladies  have  remarked  that  to  encounter  him 
casually  in  the  street  of  a  morning  brought  a  blessing 
upon  the  day.  ' '  No  one  could  fail  to  see  the  reflection  of 
the  Lord  upon  his  face,"  or  "to  feel  faith  revived  and 
courage  strengthened  and  love  deepened  as  they  listened 
to  his  cheery  voice  and  perceived  whence  the  springs  of 
his  life  flowed. ' '  And  so,  as  he  went  back  and  forth  to  the 
devotional  exercises  of  the  seminary,  of  which  he  was  a 
faithful  and  devout  attendant  to  the  end,  and  as  he  walked 
daily  through  the  streets,  though  his  voice  was  no  longer 
heard  in  classroom  or  pulpit  he  was  still  our  teacher  and 
our  preacher. 

' '  There  will  be  work  for  you  at  the  last, ' '  says  Dr.  Rob- 
ertson Nicoll,  in  one  of  his  searching  addresses— "not 
the  old  work.  .  .  .  The  misery  in  which  Christian  lives 
often  close  is  largely  due  to  the  attempt  to  continue  work 
for  which  the  toiler  has  ceased  to  be  fit.  Leave  that,  and 
there  is  other  work.  The  cities  of  Israel  are  not  gone 
over.  .  .  .  The  orator  may  have  to  content  himself  with  the 
pen.  The  preacher  may  have  to  step  from  prominence  to 
obscurity.  But  whosoever  has  passed  over  the  enchanted 
ground  to  Beulah  is  a  mighty  influence.  His  force  is  not 
to  be  measured  by  the  old  tests,  but  it  radiates  from  him 
continually.  It  keeps  silently  conquering  new  fields  and 
is  unspent  at  death. ' '  We  have  seen  these  words  fulfilled 
before  our  eyes.  During  these  last  years  Dr.  Paxton 
abode  in  the  land  of  Beulah,  and  there  radiated  from  him 

The  splendour  of  a  spirit  without  blame. 

At  the  last  the  end  came  with  a  certain  suddenness,  but 
with  no  shock.  There  was  nothing  in  its  circumstances  to 
mar  the  impression  of  the  peaceful  days  which  preceded 

48 


MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE 

it.  Even  while  on  earth  he  had  flung  his  heart  before  him 
—like  the  Bruce 's— into  heaven.  It  had  been  observed 
that  he  had  talked  much  of  the  heavenly  rest  during  the 
last  months.  It  seemed  in  no  wise  strange  that  he  should 
go  whither  his  heart  had  preceded  him.  He  came  to  his 
grave  in  a  full  age,  like  as  a  shock  of  corn  comes  in  its 
season ;  and  as  we  laid  the  body  away  in  the  profound  con- 
viction that— as  the  beautiful  words  in  our  Larger  Cate- 
chism express  it— it  shall  "even  in  death  continue  united 
to  Christ  and  rest  in  its  grave  as  in  its  bed,  till  at  the  last 
day  it  be  again  united  with  its  soul,"  what  could  our 
hearts  say,  except 

0  weary  champion  of  the  cross,  lie  still : 

Sleep  thou  at  length  the  all-embracing  sleep : 
Long  was  thy  sowing  day,  rest  now  and  reap : 

Thy  fast  was  long,  feast  now  thy  spirit's  fill. 


49 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 

A  very  large  number  of  those  who  have  been  associated 
with  Dr.  Paxton  at  one  or  another  period  of  his  life  have 
been  good  enough  to  write  out  some  account  of  Dr.  Pax- 
ton  as  they  knew  him.  From  these  accounts  there  have 
been  selected  a  few  which  seemed  to  contain  reminiscences 
or  estimates  which  the  friends  of  Dr.  Paxton  ought  not  to 
miss  seeing. 


From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  E.  Davis,  Wooster,  Ohio 

DR.    PAXTON   AT   THE   SEMINARY   AND  AT    GREENCASTLE 

I  will  jot  down  whatever  I  can  recall  of  the  years  1846- 
1850,  in  connection  with  Dr.  Paxton.  I  first  became  acquainted 
with  him  when  I  entered  the  seminary  at  Princeton  in  the  fall 
of  1846.  Being  from  the  bounds  of  the  same  presbytery,  I  saw 
the  more  of  him,  and  was  often  in  his  room.  I  seldom  went 
there  that  I  did  not  find  Blain  and  Riheldaffer  with  Paxton. 
They  seemed  to  be  great  friends. 

Dr.  Paxton  had  the  great  advantage  of  a  fine  heredity.  It 
was  to  his  grandfather,  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Paxton,  who 
spent  more  than  half  a  century  with  the  Lower  Marsh  Creek 
Church,  in  Adams  County,  Pennsylvania,  that  the  church  and 
the  world  were,  as  I  believe,  indebted  for  William  Miller  Pax- 
ton. The  elder  Dr.  Paxton  was  a  tall  and  handsome  man;  his 
figure  full,  but  not  corpulent;  a  man  of  fine  attainments,  es- 
pecially in  theology  and  philosophy;  a  most  attractive  and  im- 
pressive preacher,  one  who  drew  people  in  strong  attachment 
to  himself  and  to  his  teachings. 

53 


APPENDIX 

Paxton  was  kind  enough  to  invite  me  to  visit  him  in  vacation ; 
and  I  remember  spending  a  delightful  day  or  two  at  Millers- 
town  with  a  charming  family.  The  father,  Colonel  James  D. 
Paxton,  was  a  very  fine-looking  and  agreeable  gentleman.  Mrs. 
Paxton,  I  thought,  was  a  very  superior  woman.  An  only 
brother,  Dunlop  Paxton,  was  then  at  home,  at  work ;  and  an  only 
sister  was  a  lovely  young  woman.  She  afterwards  became  Mrs. 
Stevenson,  the  mother  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  A.  Russell  Stevenson  of 
Schenectady,  New  York.  Some  time  after  this,  in  company  with 
Thad.  Culbertson,  a  fellow-townsman  of  mine  and  a  Princeton 
student,  a  younger  brother  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Culbertson  of  our 
China  Mission,  I  visited  the  family  when  Colonel  Paxton  had 
charge  of  the  Caledonia  Iron  Works,  on  the  pike  between  Cham- 
bersburg  and  Gettysburg.  There  we  spent  a  couple  of  days  very 
delightfully  with  this  excellent  and  interesting  family. 

When  Paxton  was  to  preach,  or  conduct  a  prayer-service  in 
the  Oratory,  we  students  were  always  present,  and  we  all  ex- 
pected that  he  would  make  a  great  and  popular  preacher.  After 
his  settlement  at  Greencastle,  I  heard  him  several  times  in  the 
Falling  Spring  Church,  in  Chambersburg,  and  I  found  that 
our  expectations  were  well  founded  and  more  than  realized.  He 
was  a  remarkably  handsome  young  man,  of  a  commanding 
presence,  a  superb  figure,  with  beautiful  eyes  and  a  splendid 
voice.  He  had  been  a  close  student  at  Princeton,  and  had  not 
frittered  away  his  precious  time  in  multifarious  studies.  He 
made  theology,  the  grandest  of  the  sciences,  his  study,  and  how 
to  deliver  the  gospel  message  most  effectively.  So  whenever 
it  was  announced  in  Chambersburg  that  he  was  to  preach,  every- 
body wanted  to  hear  him,  and  large  congregations  listened 
with  almost  breathless  attention  to  his  impassioned  and  mov- 
ing appeals.  He  was  a  great  sermonizer.  His  mental  grasp 
of  whatever  subject  he  selected  was  always  firm  and  masterly. 
He  selected  no  themes  but  such  as  lie  at  the  heart  of  the  gos- 
pel and  always  reach  the  hearts  of  the  people.  His  analysis 
was  clear  and  discriminating;  his  proofs  strong  and  convincing; 
his  illustrations  appropriate  and  telling ;  his  applications  search- 
ing, eloquent,  and  impressive. 

In  1849-50  I  was  teaching  in  the  Chambersburg  Academy, 

54 


APPENDIX 

and,  as  a  licentiate,  was  supplying  the  church  at  Fayetteville, 
five  miles  out.  Mr.  Paxton's  kindness  of  heart  and  friendliness 
were  exhibited  in  this,  that  he  was  willing  to  come  and  preach 
for  me  for  a  couple  of  days.  We  were  entertained  at  the  hos- 
pitable home  of  Elder  Darby.  After  dinner,  on  Friday,  Pax- 
ton  said  to  me,  "I  must  be  alone  this  afternoon,  to  make  my 
preparation  for  preaching  this  evening."  He  told  me  that  he 
had  selected  Romans  3 :  19  for  his  text.  He  spent  a  couple  of 
hours,  perhaps  more,  walking  to  and  fro  in  the  little  parlor, 
arranging  his  heads  of  discourse,  gathering  his  illustrations, 
and  going  over  the  very  words  and  sentences  that  he  would 
use,  without  a  book  save  the  Bible,  without  a  scrap  of  paper, 
without  pen  or  pencil.  That  a  man  could  do  such  a  thing,  and 
then  preach  such  a  grand  and  thrilling  sermon  as  we  heard  that 
evening,  filled  me  with  astonishment.  Of  course  the  people 
who  heard  him,  wherever  he  preached,  were  the  more  interested 
and  delighted  because  he  was  so  free,  being  unencumbered  by 
notes,  and  so  at  liberty  to  display  his  natural  and  acquired 
gifts  and  graces  to  such  fine  advantage. 

The  prayers  of  Paxton  at  the  seminary,  at  the  family  altar, 
or  in  public  services,  always  impressed  me  greatly.  Their  sin- 
cerity, deep  feeling,  great  fervor,  and  earnestness  were  cal- 
culated to  enkindle  feeling  in  the  hearts  of  all  who  heard  him. 

When  I  knew  him,  and  to  the  end  of  his  life,  Dr.  Paxton, 
as  I  believe,  devoted  himself  to  his  Lord  and  Master,  Jesus 
Christ,  and  to  the  study  of  one  thing— how  to  preach  to  his 
fellow-men,  in  the  most  effective  way,  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ.  In  his  famous  sermon  before  the  Presbyterian  Alli- 
ance in  Philadelphia,  in  1880,  he  announced  as  the  first  and 
leading  characteristic  of  the  Presbyterian  family  of  churches, 
loyalty  to  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  was  a  typical  Pres- 
byterian himself,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  all  in  all  to 
him.  Well  would  it  be  if  all  our  young  men  who  are  preparing 
for  the  ministry,  or  who  are  now  in  the  ministry,  were  as 
truly  and  wholly  devoted  to  the  person  and  cause  of  Christ  as 
was  Dr.  Paxton,  and  if  they  would  bend  the  energies  of  their 
being  to  the  one  business  of  preaching  most  effectively  the 
pure  and  simple  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 

55 


APPENDIX 

I  had  intended  saying  that  at  the  seminary  and  afterwards 
Dr.  Paxton  was  dignified  and  grave.  Some  thought  there  was  a 
reserve  and  stiffness  about  him,  which  prevented  him  from  being 
a  "popular  fellow."  But  to  those  who  knew  him,  his  dignity 
was  relieved  by  a  very  pleasant  affability ;  and  his  serious  grav- 
ity, by  a  gentle  courtesy  of  manner  and  an  agreeable  sense  of 
humor.  The  memory  of  what  Paxton  was,  and  of  his  devotion 
to  theology  and  to  his  Lord  and  Master,  has  ever  remained  with 
me,  and  has  been  a  distinct  and  decided  help  to  me,  in  my 
weakness,  and  in  my  times  of  doubt  and  difficulty. 

Oh,  that  every  candidate  for  the  ministry  would  take  for  his 
motto,  as  did  William  M.  Paxton,  and  as  did  the  great  apostle  of 
the  Gentiles,  "This  one  thing  I  do."  And  did  not  one  greater 
than  the  apostle  Paul  say,  "Wist  ye  not  that  I  must  be  about  my 
Father's  business?" 


II 
From  the  Rev.  Dr.  S.  F.  Scovel,  Wooster,  Ohio 

DR.    PAXTON 's    MINISTRY    AT    PITTSBURGH 

I.  It  was  a  remarkably  successful  ministry  throughout  the  whole 
period  of  nearly  fifteen  years.  During  all  this  time  the  unity 
of  feeling  between  pastor  and  people  was  never  for  a  moment 
impaired.  They  were  enviable  years  of  prosperity  in  external 
things,  and  the  church  life  deepened  as  it  extended.  One  must 
go  far  to  find  a  record  in  which  there  is  so  much  cause  for  re- 
joicing and  so  little  left  to  desire  as  in  the  history  of  the  First 
Church  from  1851  to  1865.  And  the  closer  this  record  is 
scanned  the  more  evident  do  the  causes  of  this  rarely  equaled 
prosperity  become. 

1.  There  was  a  singular  adaptation  of  the  young  pastor  to 
the  existing  conditions.  With  only  two  years  of  ministerial 
experience,  he  was  unusually  mature  in  character  and  judgment. 
His  training  from  boyhood  had  been  in  the  direction  of  prac- 

56 


APPENDIX 

tical  and  effective  speech.  His  original  destination  was  the 
law,  and  his  methods  gave  evidence  of  the  directness  which  is 
indispensable  in  preparation  for  and  practice  of  that  profes- 
sion. There  was  needed  just  such  an  alternation  of  gifts  (com- 
pared with  those  of  the  retiring  pastor)  as  was  found  in  the 
new  pastor.  The  circumstances  of  his  entrance  upon  the  work 
of  the  parish  were  all  propitious. 

2.  To  these  was  added  the  most  affectionate  welcome  ac- 
corded by  the  venerable  Dr.  Herron.  The  new  pastor  was  re- 
ceived—to use  his  own  words— "with  open  arms."  The  rela- 
tions between  the  two,  founded  on  mutual  respect  and  esteem, 
were  ideal  throughout  the  ten  years  in  which  the  life  of  the 
man  whom  the  whole  church  loved  and  the  whole  city  admired 
was  spared  for  counsel  and  encouragement.  It  was  little  to 
be  wondered  at  when  the  Elisha  of  this  succession  delivered  the 
model  memorial  sermon  from  the  text,  "My  father,  my  father, 
the  chariot  of  Israel,  and  the  horsemen  thereof !" 

3.  Moreover,  the  rapidly  increasing  congregations,  the  con- 
dition of  city  prosperity,  and  the  recognized  pecuniary  ability 
of  the  congregation,  together  with  the  decrepitude  of  the  old 
building,  pointed  imperatively  and  persuasively  to  a  new  edifice. 
Begun  in  1852  and  finished  in  1853,  it  was  one  of  the  handsomest 
of  its  time  and  stimulated  the  erection  of  other  buildings  of  its 
own  type.  There  was  no  need  for  such  appeals  as  were  neces- 
sary in  1787,  when  first-pastor  Barr  stirred  the  apathetic  com- 
munity with  words  of  reproach  as  well  as  of  exhortation.  Nor 
was  there  any  hint  of  resorting  again  to  a  lottery,  despite  the 
use  of  which  a  large  debt  had  accrued  at  the  building  of  1806, 
to  which  debt  property  ultimately  of  great  value  was  sacrificed. 
With  united  effort  the  great  edifice  rose  with  its  impressive 
front  (a  reminiscence  of  Notre  Dame  in  Paris)  and  its  admi- 
rable audience-room.  It  became  a  power  for  good  and  an  effi- 
cient aid  in  the  new  pastor's  work. 

4.  Not  only  did  the  congregations  grow,  but  the  membership 
grew.  There  was  a  constant  migration  from  the  surrounding 
counties  to  the  city,  and  these  counties  (especially  Washington) 
had  been  the  scenes  of  great  revivals  and  were  sending  some 
of  their  best   Scotch-Irish   character   and   conviction   into   the 

57 


APPENDIX 

centre  which  so  sadly  needed  them.  Within  the  city  the  fight 
for  a  truly  evangelical  type  of  Christian  faith  and  service  had 
been  won  by  the  determined  faithfulness  of  Dr.  Herron.  The 
higher  type  of  Christian  character  had  come  to  be  accepted  as 
the  only  one  admissible  for  a  member  of  the  church.  The  resi- 
dence sections,  especially  in  Allegheny,  were  increasingly  at- 
tractive, and  the  inaccessible  suburbs  were  not  as  yet  distractive. 
Class  differences  and  separations  were  not  much  in  the  way. 
Some  of  all  conditions  and  circumstances  found  a  warm  wel- 
come from  Christians  as  well  as  from  Christ.  There  was  widely 
extended  mission-school  work,  and  there  were  multiplying  or- 
ganizations for  different  forms  of  church  activity.  There  fol- 
lowed large  development  of  the  church  in  benevolence  and  in 
the  vitality  which  enabled  it  to  bear  (somewhat  later  in  the 
century)  a  heavy  draught  upon  its  energies  in  aiding  by  mem- 
bers and  money  the  planting  and  nourishing  of  the  suburban 
churches. 

It  is  much  to  say  that  the  growth  of  the  church  kept  pace 
for  a  long  time  with  the  growth  of  the  city.  The  mid-century 
assurance  of  western  prosperity  was  felt  in  the  increasing  value 
of  property  and  volume  of  trade  and  productive  activity.  This 
gave  opportunity,  and  imposed  responsibility,  and  both  were 
admirably  met.  It  was  a  friendly  atmosphere  for  all  forms  of 
Presbyterian  faith.  The  elements  which  combined  to  consti- 
tute the  United  Presbyterian  denomination  were  helpful  in 
fixing  the  general  tone  of  morality.  There  were  no  Sunday 
newspapers  or  theatres.  Intemperance  and  the  coarser  vices 
were  known,  but  they  did  not  rule  either  in  political  or  social 
life. 

5.  The  house-to-house  ministry  of  Dr.  Paxton  was  never  neg- 
lected. He  was  attentive  but  not  indulgent.  Constant  and  im- 
partial and  sympathetic  in  pastoral  duty  and  opportunity,  he 
was  never  willing  to  neglect  the  study  for  the  street  or  the 
parlor.  He  was  willing  to  rely  much  upon  certain  beloved  mem- 
bers of  the  session  who  gave  themselves  in  special  consecration 
to  this  work  for  a  long  series  of  years  and  with  the  greatest 
acceptance.  And  this  was  all  the  more  regarded  as  satisfac- 
tory because  he  had  given  so  much  time  and  strength  to  the 

58 


APPENDIX 

theological  seminary  (after  1860)  and  because  he  maintained 
such  peculiarly  close  relations  with  the  whole  body  of  elders. 
They  came  to  be  men  after  his  own  heart.  As  he  trusted  them 
and  put  them  forward  in  the  work,  the  people  trusted  and 
accepted  them  as  leaders.  Much  of  the  church's  best  record 
is  due  to  this  wise  pastoral  habit  of  the  pastor. 

Together  Dr.  Paxton  and  the  session  withstood  the  tendency 
to  a  relaxation  of  discipline  which  even  then  had  begun  to 
manifest  itself  in  our  churches.  It  was  a  kindly  discipline 
they  exercised,  but  firm.  From  1860  so  strong  a  protest  against 
worldly  amusements  was  maintained  that  a  pledge  to  abstain 
from  them  was  made  a  term  of  communion  for  all  who  made 
profession  of  their  faith. 

Dr.  Paxton 's  pastoral  supervision  was  extended  to  the  Sun- 
day-school work,  which  was  brought,  at  his  suggestion,  under 
the  care  of  the  session.  In  relation  to  moral  reforms  and  mat- 
ters of  civic  righteousness,  he  was  as  decided  in  essentials  as 
he  was  prudent  concerning  occasions  and  methods.  When  the 
hot  breath  of  the  war  was  felt  in  the  air,  the  duties  and  anxieties 
of  that  period  came  alike  upon  pastor  and  people.  The  pulpit 
gave  no  uncertain  sound,  and  its  prayers  were  incessant;  while 
the  whole  church  was  ever  ready,  with  moral  influence,  with 
money,  with  men  at  the  front,  and  with  faithful  women  not  a 
few,  in  all  the  varied  labors  by  which  they  sustained  and  com- 
forted the  armies  in  the  field  and  ministered  personally  to  the 
wearied  regiments  as  they  passed  through  the  city  by  thousands. 
Pittsburgh  was  patriotic  to  the  core,  and  the  First  Church  was 
very  near  that  core's  centre.  In  one  great  mass-meeting  in  that 
church,  in  behalf  of  the  Sanitary  Commission,  the  sum  of  nearly 
$50,000  was  raised. 

6.  But  that  which  most  fully  explains  Dr.  Paxton 's  success 
(and  without  which  the  things  already  mentioned  would  have 
been  vain)  was  the  deeply  earnest  and  evangelical  character 
of  his  ministry.  Herein  he  was  certainly  in  the  apostolical  suc- 
cession. Dr.  Herron  had  gone  before  in  a  bold  pioneer  work 
some  conditions  of  which  are  yet  astonishing.  The  substantial 
victory  had  been  gained,  and  it  was  the  joy  of  his  successor 
to  continue  the  good  fight  and  guard  and  cultivate  the  territory 

59 


APPENDIX 

•won.  The  last  public  utterance  of  the  veteran  leader  was  made 
as  the  closing  sermon  before  the  old  house  of  worship  was  for- 
saken to  prepare  for  the  new.  "I  wish  it  to  be  recorded  and 
remembered,"  said  he,  "that  after  fifty  years  of  ministry  I  am 
not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  And  would  to  God  that  it 
was  'written  as  with  a  pen  of  iron  and  with  the  point  of  a 
diamond'  on  every  heart,  both  saint  and  sinner,  that  this  gos- 
pel is  the  only  remedy  for  the  ruined  creature,  man."  Just  such 
a  testimony  might  have  been  borne  when  Dr.  Paxton  left  the 
pulpit  at  Pittsburgh.  The  whole  of  the  shorter  period  was  a 
twice-marked  subscription  to  the  declaration  of  the  patriarch- 
preacher.  The  spiritual  character  of  the  church  gained  (1811- 
1851)  was  maintained  and  developed  (1851-65). 

The  fruits  of  such  a  ministry  were  certain.  The  aim  was  a 
manifestation  of  the  truth  to  men's  consciences.  Nothing  was 
kept  back  of  all  the  counsel  of  God.  The  law-work  was  ever 
carried  on  as  a  method  of  bringing  men  to  Christ.  There  was 
little  dependence  placed  upon  the  aid  of  special  evangelists  (and 
through  some  not  wholly  favorable  experience  in  that  matter 
the  church  had  already  passed)  ;  but  there  was  no  lack  of  gen- 
uine interest  in  revivals.  The  blessing  came  almost  immediately, 
indeed,  in  that  form.  There  was  a  great  work  of  grace  in  the 
winter  of  1851-52.  Like  that  of  1827,  which  was  the  crisis 
of  the  third  pastorate,  this  revival  was  of  essential  importance 
to  the  whole  of  the  pastorate  it  introduced.  There  were  many 
(effective  through  the  remaining  half-century)  who  could  date 
the  beginning  of  their  spiritual  life  from  that  Sunday  after- 
noon inquiry-meeting  out  of  which  most  of  the  seventy-five  per- 
sons present  went  savingly  impressed.  The  most  signal  of  the 
subsequent  revivals  was  that  of  1857.  A  somewhat  detailed 
account  of  the  remarkable  conference  in  which  it  began  was 
given  by  Dr.  Paxton  at  the  centennial  celebration  in  1884.  The 
brethren  came  together  in  deep  anxiety,  not  without  a  feeling 
of  discouragement.  But  the  word  of  Dr.  Plumer  concerning 
the  risen  and  glorified  Christ,  and  the  awakening  letter  to  the 
churches  (Dr.  Jacobus  spent  the  night  in  prayer  and  in  its 
composition) ,  gave  heart  and  voice  to  the  prayerful  and  deeply 
moved   assembly.     There   is   little   doubt   that   the   "Week   of 

60 


APPENDIX 

Prayer"  was  an  echo  of  this  conference  and  revival  through 
our  missionaries  in  India.  Philadelphia  was  mightily  wrought 
upon  next  to  Pittsburgh,  ' '  and  before  long  the  land  was  ablaze. ' ' 
Into  all  such  occasions  of  special  interest  Dr.  Paxton  entered 
heart  and  soul.  Such  ministrations  as  his  kept  them  from  being 
tempestuous  or  merely  emotional,  and  aided  powerfully  to  make 
the  results  deeply  spiritual  and  permanently  constructive. 

It  was  only  to  be  expected  that  the  people  who  had  enjoyed 
such  fellowship  in  the  gospel  from  the  first  day  until  the  last 
would  continue  to  cling  in  close  friendship  to  the  pastor  who 
could  give  the  full  measure  of  devotion  to  a  new  work  without 
losing  the  tenderest  interest  in  the  old.  Every  visit  was  warmly 
welcomed.  Every  sermon  drew  again  to  the  old  centre  many 
who  had  entered  other  church  relations.  Dr.  Paxton 's  advice 
was  followed,  notably  in  the  call  of  Dr.  Purves,  whose  ministry 
was  filled  with  blessing  to  the  church  and  the  community.  He 
was  the  son  of  consolation  at  more  than  one  funeral  service. 

II.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  (at  least  it  does  not  seem  so  to  the 
present  writer)  that  Dr.  Paxton  came  nearer  being  a  faultless 
model  in  preaching  than  any  man  of  that  time  in  church  or 
country.  He  was  at  once  clear  and  profound,  original  but  with 
no  disposition  to  be  startling,  scriptural  but  much  more  than 
a  master  of  the  letter.  He  was  not  doctrinal  formally,  but  ever 
so  essentially.  Not  controversial,  he  was  occasionally  convinc- 
ingly apologetic.  An  early  sermon  on  the  inspiration  of  the 
Bible  was  quoted  many  years  after  its  delivery.  He  was  deeply 
spiritual  and  experimental.  He  became  well  known  at  an  early 
period  and  was  widely  appreciated,  even  as  far  westward  as 
St.  Paul,  where  some  summers  were  passed.  He  never  denied 
sin's  frightful  scars,  yet  he  taught  the  most  hopeful  inter- 
pretation (for  example)  in  a  noble  sermon  on  the  innumerable 
company  of  the  finally  saved. 

Never  seeking  special  occasions,  he  was  equal  to  their  de- 
mands when  they  claimed  attention.  Such  were  the  model 
memorial  sermons  at  the  death  of  Dr.  Herron,  the  opening  ser- 
mon at  the  1880  meeting  of  the  Presbyterian  Alliance,  and  the 
centennial  discourse  at  Pittsburgh  (1884).  There  was  no  striv- 
ing for  effect,  and  yet  the  most  studious  avoidance  of  everything 

61 


APPENDIX 

which  might  hinder  the  effectiveness  of  the  message.  There  was 
impressiveness  without  assumption  of  undue  solemnity  of  man- 
ner. He  had  always  an  attentive  people.  It  became  a  marked 
characteristic  of  the  church  even  when  hearing  other  ministers. 
The  first  sentences — which  were  always  (according  to  his  own 
instruction  to  students)  "a  centre  shot  at  a  target"— attracted 
an  attention  which  was  never  lost.  The  subsequent  onflow  of 
interpretation  and  illustration  allowed  no  flagging  of  interest. 
Its  marshaled  order  was  logical,  but  the  logical  framework  was 
hidden  in  a  wealth  of  true,  deep  feeling.  He  had  the  "eloquence 
of  order"  to  an  unrivaled  degree.  For  sermons  of  such  con- 
tinued elevation  of  thought,  his  were  the  easiest  listened  to. 
The  style  was  not  labored.  The  labor  had  all  been  done  in  the 
laboratory  of  his  fixed  mind  and  awakened  heart.  Both  were 
held  in  most  direct,  intense,  continued,  and  fruitful  contact  with 
the  truth,  in  his  matchless  method  of  mental  composition,  with 
never  a  line  of  pencil  or  pen  to  give  the  inward  vision  a  hint 
of  distracting  externality.  The  current,  when  the  pulpit  was 
reached,  ran  so  smoothly  that  its  vastness  and  volume  were  not 
at  first  appreciated.  Divisions  there  were,  but  they  were  not 
staring,  but  just  such  hints  as  rendered  more  certain  the  hearer's 
grasp  of  the  succession  of  thought.  Without  any  unusual  mani- 
festation of  emotion,  he  excited  the  deepest  (because  the  most 
rational)  emotion  in  his  fellow-worshippers.  He  was  ever 
practising  the  presence  of  God,  and  no  one  ever  heard  a  real 
"lightness"  fall  from  his  lips  while  in  the  pulpit.  His  sermons 
wrere  frequently  of  more  than  the  usual  length,  but  no  hearers 
ever  found  them  wearisome.  There  were  no  faults  of  undue  ex- 
pansion at  this  point  or  that,  but  constant  progress  with  never 
a  sign  of  haste.  Energetic  thought,  sound  exposition,  evi- 
dent faith  and  deep  feeling,  the  awe  of  reverence,  the  charm 
of  a  visible  interest  in  every  auditor,  drew  men  to  him  always. 
There  was  no  needless  repetition,  yet  often  a  carefully  stated 
proposition,  or  series  of  propositions,  of  w7hich  the  verbiage  (in 
the  interest  of  intelligent  remembrance  and  restatement)  was 
never  changed.  It  was  the  best  conceivable  method  for  win- 
ning, holding,  and  rewarding  attention.  There  was  no  useless 
ornament,   yet  there   was  repeated   illumination  of  the  theme 

62 


APPENDIX 

by  apt  illustration.  As  he  taught  so  he  practised  the  art  of 
illustration,  so  that  not  one  of  those  he  used  ever  gleamed  afar 
like  the  stitched-on  purple  patches  of  Horace,  outshining  the 
glory  of  the  truth  with  tinsel.  He  had  never  a  less  noble  view 
in  this  matter  than  that  painter's  who  dashed  out  the  cups 
which  had  attracted  the  spectator's  gaze  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  Saviour's  face,  on  which  the  artist  would  have  fixed  it. 
He  was  most  sedulously  careful,  however,  concerning  the  selec- 
tion, the  verbal  clothing,  the  introduction,  and  the  application  of 
every  illustration.  Just  because  all  were  held  subordinate  to 
the  truth,  they  were  glorified  as  ministrants  to  its  clearer  com- 
prehension and  stronger  impression. 

There  was  always,  in  Dr.  Paxton's  preaching,  an  extraor- 
dinary combination  of  simplicity  and  strength,  clearness  and 
depth.  And  to  these  characteristics  of  matter  his  manner  in 
the  pulpit  was  exactly  adapted.  His  action  was  free,  but  never 
violent.  The  pulpit  in  the  church  building  of  1852  was  con- 
structed as  he  desired,  and  along  its  outer  line— a  distance  of 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet— he  would  pass  and  repass,  addressing  eye 
to  eye  every  part  of  the  great  congregation.  His  enunciation 
was  distinct,  his  vocal  utterance  always  audible,  without  effort 
to  the  hearer  and  with  no  perceptible  strain  upon  the  speaker. 
"What  can  I  more  say,  unless  it  be  to  repeat  my  conviction  that 
in  that  noble  audience-room,  so  capacious  and  furnished  in  such 
perfect  harmony  with  the  grave  yet  not  gloomy  spirit  of  devout 
worship ;  to  that  congregation  of  thoughtful  and  godly  people, 
with  such  evident  inspiration  from  above  and  such  humble  and 
hearty  reliance  upon  the  limitless  grace  of  God,  there  were  fif- 
teen years  of  such  preaching  and  hearing  as  are  but  rarely  wit- 
nessed. Other  instrumentalities  there  were,  which  proved  their 
value  in  many  ways,  and  many  favorable  circumstances  envi- 
roned these  years ;  but  the  main  thing  about  which  other  things 
crystallized  and  which  went  farthest  to  secure  the  results  of  that 
church  life  was  the  preaching  of  Dr.  Paxton. 

III.  One  cannot  give  a  full  account  of  Dr.  Paxton's  work 
in  Pittsburgh  and  omit  mention  of  his  service  as  professor  in 
the  Western  Theological  Seminary.  He  was  chosen  professor 
of  homiletics  by  the  General  Assembly  of  1860,  in  session  at 

63 


APPENDIX 

Rochester,  New  York.  It  is  probable  that  the  student  attendance 
upon  his  ministry  had  much  to  do  with  the  request  that  he  would 
undertake  to  teach.  That  attendance  was  a  source  of  strength 
to  the  church.  Many  devoted  workers  gave  their  consecration 
expression  in  its  various  enterprises  for  the  good  of  the  com- 
munity. I  have  always  understood  that  Dr.  Paxton's  entire 
services  as  professor  from  1860  to  1865  and  for  several  years 
thereafter,  in  which  he  returned  from  New  York  to  deliver  his 
lectures  to  the  students  gathered  for  the  occasion  into  one  body, 
were  without  expense  to  the  seminary.  His  system  was  the 
fruit  of  his  experience,  and  for  that  reason  most  valuable.  The 
course  gave  evidence  from  the  beginning  of  wide  reading  and 
accurate  analysis  of  the  methods  of  many  of  the  world's  most 
useful  and  famous  ministers  of  the  Word.  Dr.  Paxton  was  quite 
willing  to  have  others  know  the  story  of  his  own  induction 
into  the  habit  of  mental  composition  (upon  a  suggestion  of  a 
gentleman  at  Bedford  Springs,  afterwrard  President  Buchanan) 
and  of  his  first  week's  and  first  Sabbath's  experience  under  the 
new  idea.  The  students  were  charmed  with  the  teaching,  and 
I  have  never  heard  one  who  knew  the  elements  of  this  professor 's 
system  who  did  not  pronounce  it  ideal,  even  though  he  might 
confess  in  the  same  breath  that  its  demands  of  him  who  would 
practise  it  fully  were  greater  than  most  men  had  either  grace 
or  grit  to  meet.  His  first  effort  was  to  settle  it  for  every  stu- 
dent that  his  first  duty  was  to  seek  the  truth.  Then  he  might 
expect  the  truth  to  hold  him  as  he  grasped  it.  And  then  must 
come  close  and  accurate  thinking  and  thereby  true  feeling,  and 
the  consequent  "eloquence  of  order,"  freedom  in  utterance, 
consecutiveness  in  thought,  and  directness  in  communication  with 
the  hearer.  The  naturalness  of  the  method  is  the  vindication 
of  its  philosophy.  The  self-command  and  supreme  earnestness 
of  soul  which  it  required,  and  the  intelligent  comprehension 
by  the  minister  of  what  he  meant  to  accomplish,  made  it,  per- 
haps, in  its  entirety  accessible  to  only  a  few  select  spirits. 
"Topico-textual"  sermons,  those  which  found  both  content  and 
structure  in  the  selected  Scripture,  were,  I  think,  his  own  dis- 
covery; that  is,  he  first  defined  them  as  a  class  and  showed  the 
way  to  their  best  use.    And  surely  no  one  who  ever  heard  one 

64 


APPENDIX 

of  them  could  ever  forget  those  Scripture  clauses  in  their  illu- 
minated relationship.  Thus  genius  did  its  best  work  in  linking 
its  finest  perceptions  to  the  actual  substance  of  some  divine 
revelation,  and  thenceforward  the  weight  of  the  truth  and  the 
brilliancy  of  the  illumination  became  inseparable.  How  intensely 
and  reverently  he  loved  the  ministry  of  reconciliation  need 
scarcely  be  noted.  Whoever  heard  his  address  on  preaching — 
the  inaugural,  I  think,  at  Princeton  and  largely  repeated  soon 
after  to  the  students  at  the  University  of  Wooster,  Ohio — could 
not  but  feel  that  such  an  attitude  toward  the  sacred  office  and 
such  large  conception  of  its  privilege  and  opportunity  must 
have  gone  far  (even  without  such  marked  gifts  and  graces)  to 
have  constituted  Dr.  Paxton  a  model  professor. 

IV.  If  we  turn  to  Dr.  Paxton 's  Pittsburgh  ministry  among 
his  fellow-ministers,  we  find  the  same  faithfulness  and  compe- 
tence. The  First  Church  was  kept  fully  aware  of  the  denomina- 
tional work  and  of  its  place  of  responsibility  therein.  It  would 
have  been  almost  inconceivable  neglect  for  the  pastor  of  that 
church  to  have  been  forgetful  of  foreign  missions,  when  the 
work  originated  there  in  its  first  organized  form  for  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  as  a  whole;  or  of  home  missions,  when  the 
spot  was  consecrated  by  the  great  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  1828 ; 
or  of  the  theological  seminary,  the  very  location  of  which  at 
Allegheny  was  secured  by  the  influence  of  its  venerable  third 
pastor.  Helpfulness  toward  the  surrounding  churches  was  never 
withheld.  Dr.  Paxton  never  claimed  leadership  because  of  his 
position,  but  never  denied  responsibility  because  of  varied  labors. 
His  relations  with  fellow-servants  in  the  ministry  t(even  outside 
of  denominational  lines)  were  of  the  kindliest  sort.  He  was 
always  appreciative  and  therefore  appreciated;  and  especially 
was  this  true  of  the  younger  ministers. 

V.  Dr.  Paxton  was  a  manly  man.  He  was  graceful  and  at- 
tractive in  person  and  carriage.  During  the  Pittsburgh  years 
he  was  not  always  in  robust  health,  but  with  care  and  prudence 
his  work  was  continuous.  He  was  dignified  without  hauteur,  and 
was  accessible  without  ever  being  effusive  or  ((by  any  possibility) 
intrusive.  His  poise  was  so  remarkable  that  he  was  never  known 
to  be  taken  unawares,  to  be  hurried  or  flustered.     With  more 

65 


APPENDIX 

intimate  acquaintances  he  was  most  companionable  and  kindly, 
though  even  then  (so  far  as  the  present  writer  knows)  he  never 
descended  into  gossip.  He  was  invariably  considerate  of  those 
whose  conduct  or  opinions  he  could  not  approve.  His  loyalty 
to  friends  who  came  under  adverse  criticism  was  self-forgetful 
and  brave;  and  he  grappled  them  to  him  with  hooks  of  steel. 
He  loved  spiritual  conversation.  His  character  as  a  Christian 
appeared  everywhere  (apart  from  all  professional  necessities) 
most  amiable  and  sincere.  He  thought  of  nothing  as  equal  in 
its  interest  to  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man.  Few  men 
with  all  his  environment  would  have  continued  so  unpreten- 
tious and  unassuming.  In  conversation  he  was  gifted,  having 
the  rare  ability  to  be  a  contented  listener  as  well  as  a  facile 
raconteur.  He  had  enjoyed  from  early  life  the  acquaintance 
of  the  noblest  and  best  society  our  country  could  afford;  he 
never  forgot  anything;  he  had  an  excellent  sense  of  kindly 
humor ;  he  possessed  a  rich  store  of  anecdote  and  incident ;  yet 
he  was  never  found  monopolizing  conversation  or  seeking  for 
himself  the  applause  of  a  company.  Never  claiming  the  training 
of  a  specialist,  so  broad  were  his  views  and  so  generous  his  esti- 
mate of  fellow-workers  that  finer  appreciation  of  honest  merit 
or  profound  scholarship  or  high  character  could  nowhere  be 
found. 

I  have  sometimes  thought  that  I  never  could  say,  "I  have  seen 
an  end  of  perfection,"  while  Dr.  Paxton  lived.  Perhaps  there 
may  be  others,  but  in  the  shadow  of  this  bereavement  of  the 
church  he  loved  I  may  be  allowed  some  uncertainty. 


Ill 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Oscar  A.  Hills,  Wooster,  Ohio 

DR.   PAXTON 'S  FIRST  YEAR  AT  ALLEGHENY   SEMINARY 

On  Wednesday  morning,  October  17,  1860,  the  seniors  and  mod- 
ellers of  the  Western  Theological  Seminary  gathered  with  high 
expectations  in  the  old  Seminary  Hall.     The  room  where  they 

66 


APPENDIX 

were  assembled,  then  known  as  "Dr.  Plumer's  recitation-room," 
was  on  the  second  floor,  immediately  over  the  chapel,  and  of  the 
same  size ;  two  rooms  having  been  thrown  into  one  for  occasions 
when  a  professor  could  conveniently  lecture  to  two  classes  at 
the  same  time,  as  was  the  case  at  this  hour.  There  were  about 
one  hundred  men  in  the  two  classes,  and  every  man  of  them 
seemed  to  be  present  with  pencil  and  note-book  in  hand.  Some 
unusual  event  was  evidently  impending. 

It  was  the  opening  lecture  of  the  new  professor  of  sacred 
rhetoric,  already  known  as  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  M.  Paxton.  The 
middlers,  of  whom  I  was  one,  had  often  heard  him  preach  during 
the  preceding  session.  We  greatly  admired  the  way  he  did  it. 
Now,  in  the  closer  fellowship  of  the  class-room,  we  were  to  learn 
from  him  how  to  do  it,  too.  Inasmuch  as  he  was  preeminent  as 
a  pulpit  orator,  and  the  popular  pastor  of  one  of  the  largest 
churches  in  the  city  of  Pittsburgh,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  great  expectations  were  cherished  in  the  minds  of  those 
one  hundred  and  seven  theologues  (for  so  many  were  enrolled 
in  the  catalogue  of  that  session)  gathered  to  participate  in  the 
opening  of  a  new  department  of  seminary  instruction,  so  in- 
teresting, practical,  and  immediately  useful  as  the  composition 
and  delivery  of  sermons. 

We  had  thought  ourselves  especially  happy  in  being  permitted 
to  sit  under  the  preaching,  and  study  the  methods,  of  seven  men 
like  Paxton,  Howard,  Kendall,  Jacobus,  Wilson,  Plumer,  and 
Swift  the  elder, — every  one  as  different  from  every  other  one  as 
day  from  night,  but  every  one  of  them  a  prince  unrivaled  in  his 
own  style  and  manner.  But  now  we  were  to  have  another  one  of 
the  immortal  seven  (we  had  three  of  them  already)  as  our  teacher, 
and  he  probably  best  fitted  of  them  all  to  tell  us  the  secret  of  pul- 
pit power,  so  far  as  it  lay  in  the  preacher  and  his  furniture  and 
methods.  Forty  years  ago  the  literature  of  homiletics  accessible 
to  impecunious  students  was  not  very  extensive.  Indeed,  about 
all  we  had  to  depend  on  was  the  suggestive,  yet  in  many  ways  un- 
satisfactory, Vinet.  It  was  a  great  addition  to  our  comfort  that 
now  we  were  to  have  the  opportunity  of  hearing  everything 
available  in  the  department  recompounded  in  the  alembic  of  a 
master  in  the  science  and  art  of  sacred  eloquence. 

67 


APPENDIX 

At  the  time  of  which  I  speak,  Dr.  Paxton  was  in  the  fulness 
of  a  vigorous  manhood.  Only  four  months  before  he  had  en- 
tered his  thirty-seventh  year.  As  he  came  into  the  class-room 
that  morning,  he  was  a  noble  specimen  of  Christian  manhood— 
a  handsome,  courtly,  and  distinguished  minister  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Responding  to  the  cordial  greeting  of  his  younger  brethren,  he 
led  us  in  reverent  prayer  to  the  feet  of  the  Master;  and  then, 
casting  a  kindly  glance  from  those  luminous  eyes  over  the  room, 
he  at  once  began  his  work  with  a  lecture  upon  "The  History 
of  Preaching."  The  broad  foundation  he  proposed  to  lay,  and 
the  wide  sweep  of  his  forecast  of  the  new  department,  soon 
became  evident  to  us  in  that  he  spent  the  first  five  lectures  of  his 
course  on  this  history,  and  even  then  had  had  no  occasion  to 
travel  outside  the  Scripture  record  for  illustrations  of  the  great 
preachers  of  the  Church  of  God.  Enoch,  Noah,  Moses,  Aaron, 
Joshua,  Samuel,  and  Ezra  of  the  Old  Testament,  and,  with 
John  the  Baptist  between  the  gates,  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apos- 
tles Paul,  Peter,  John,  and  James  of  the  New  Testament,  were 
made  to  stand  out  before  us  clothed  with  majestic  power  as 
teachers  of  divine  truth.  His  lecture  on  the  preaching  of  Jesus 
was  wonderfully  discriminating,  eloquent,  and  elevating. 

Leaving  the  history  of  preaching  during  the  Christian  cen- 
turies for  future  development,  he  began  in  January,  1861,  his 
course  of  lectures  on  Sacred  Rhetoric,  narrowing  the  theme  at 
once  to  the  single  thought  of  "the  construction  of  a  sermon." 
When  I  say  he  carried  us  on  in  this  work,  with  great  exactness 
of  method,  amplitude  of  analysis,  and  wealth  of  illustration 
from  his  own  sermons,  and  especially  those  of  the  masters  of 
homiletical  composition,  through  seven  great  stages,— viz.. 
Choosing  a  Text,  Invention  and  Gathering  of  Matter,  Drawing 
the  Theme,  Division  of  Material,  Introductions,  The  Treatment 
of  Divisions,  and  Perorations,  — it  will  surprise  no  one  to  learn 
that  he  did  not  finish  the  course  till  the  24th  of  February,  1862. 

To  some  of  his  pupils,  indeed,  it  sometimes  seemed  as  if  his 
lectures  were  marked  by  an  excess  of  analysis,  and  methods  far 
too  mechanical.  But  then  he  was  dealing  with  the  anatomy  of 
a  sermon,  and  in  setting  up  a  skeleton  it  is  rather  important  that 
all  the  bones  should  be  there,  and  that  every  bone  should  be  in 

6S 


APPENDIX 

its  place.  He  wisely  left  to  us  the  work  of  putting  flesh  on  the 
bones. 

Dr.  Paxton's  preaching  in  those  days  partook  somewhat  of 
the  character  of  his  lectures  in  homiletics— to  the  extent,  at 
least,  of  careful  analysis,  logical  arrangement,  and  amplitude 
of  illustration.  This,  indeed,  seemed  to  be  rendered  necessary 
by  his  method  of  preparing  a  sermon.  He  has  told  me  he  would 
spend  the  week  gathering  and  formulating  his  material,  and  then 
spend  the  night,  to  the  "wee  sma'  hours"  of  the  Sabbath,  walk- 
ing the  floor  and  laboriously  composing  his  sermons,  sentence 
by  sentence,  while  yet  he  did  not  pen  a  word. 

Some  of  us,  I  think,  at  first  thought  his  sermons,  while  they 
were  polished  ad  ungiiem  and  clear  as  a  sunbeam,  were  wanting 
in  warmth,  and  that  as  a  preacher  he  was  cold  and  distant, 
sacrificing  a  certain  degree  of  fervency  and  unction  of  spirit 
to  exactness  of  chaste  and  methodical  expression.  This  impres- 
sion was  very  soon  dissipated  in  the  familiar  intercourse  of  the 
class-room,  where  we  had  abundant  opportunity  to  mark  his 
sympathetic  spirit  and  solicitude  for  our  success,  and  his  readi- 
ness to  help  us  in  our  blundering  efforts  to  get  a  start  in  the 
great  and  blessed  work  of  preaching  the  gospel.  I  have  been 
told  by  those  who  attended  the  First  Church  prayer-meetings  of 
those  days  that  all  impressions  of  hauteur  and  coldness  would 
be  speedily  melted  in  the  warmth  of  the  extemporaneous  outpour- 
ings of  his  tender  spiritual  nature. 

In  a  review  of  my  seminary  course,  after  nearly  half  a  century, 
I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  the  two  things  that  did  me 
more  good  than  all  others  combined  were  Dr.  Plumer  's  lectures  on 
Experimental  Religion  and  Dr.  Paxton's  on  Homiletics.  One  sec- 
tion in  his  lecture  on  Expository  Preaching,  explaining  and 
enforcing  the  treatment  of  paragraphs,  or  somewhat  extended 
passages  of  Scripture,  as  the  ordinary  sermon  treats  a  single 
verse,  has  been  of  incalculable  service  to  me.  He  well  says  what 
I  have  found  to  be  true:  "This  is  the  highest  kind  of  pulpit 
address.  Few  can  do  it  well.  The  difficulty  lies  in  the  want 
of  analytical  culture  and  deep  and  extensive  acquaintance  with 
Scripture. ' ' 


69 


APPENDIX 

IV 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  W.  W.  McKinney,  Philadelphia 

REMINISCENT    NOTES    ABOUT    DR.    PAXTON    AT    PITTSBURGH 

Dr.  William  M.  Paxton  came  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Pittsburgh  in  1851.  He  was  young,  tall,  commanding.  He 
soon  made  himself  a  name  and  a  place  as  an  orator,  sermonizer, 
and  worker,  and  grew  steadily  in  power  and  influence.  His  dis- 
courses upon  the  life  and  services  of  Dr.  Herron  were  published, 
and  are  a  fine  production,  and  an  eloquent  tribute  to  a  noble, 
forceful  character  and  a  useful  and  memorable  career.  Dr.  Pax- 
ton  was  noted  for  his  special  efforts.  He  did  not  neglect  or  slight 
his  ordinary  pulpit  preparations,  but  utilized  Thanksgiving  and 
other  days  of  public  or  local  interest  to  discuss  themes  which 
aroused  his  powers  to  their  utmost  and  redounded  greatly  to  his 
reputation  and  influence.  During  the  Civil  War  his  patriotic 
heart  was  deeply  stirred,  and  on  several  occasions  he  spoke  with 
a  vividness,  fire,  zeal,  vigor,  and  appositeness  that  told  for  his 
country  and  the  cause  then  at  stake. 

Dr.  Paxton  was  more  the  preacher  than  the  pastor.  His  peo- 
ple recognized  his  superior  qualities  in  the  pulpit  and  gave  him 
the  fullest  liberty  and  time  for  their  exercise.  He  had  a  re- 
markable session,  two  members  of  whom,  being  wealthy  and  hav- 
ing largely  retired  from  business,  devoted  themselves  to  reliev- 
ing him  as  much  as  possible  from  pastoral  visitation  and  care. 
They  were  men  of  much  spirituality,  consecration,  and  accep- 
tability, and  found  delight  in  their  work,  and  had  the  fullest 
and  freest  access  to  the  homes  of  the  people.  They  were  a  bless- 
ing to  the  families  visited,  kept  the  pastor  posted  as  to  their 
needs  and  conditions,  and  offered  him  happy  suggestions  and 
valuable  aid  as  circumstances  required.  They  were  a  power  in 
the  session  as  well  as  among  the  people.  Dr.  Paxton  leaned  on 
them.     They  were  proud  of  him,  and  he  of  them,  and  through 

70 


APPENDIX 

their  combined  efforts  the  church  grew  in  numbers,  piety,  and 
influence. 

Dr.  Paxton  proved  a  wise,  faithful,  and  influential  factor  in 
the  Pittsburgh  Presbytery  and  Synod.  He  was  prominent  in 
counsel.  He  took  special  interest  in  the  younger  members  and 
gave  them  the  benefit  of  his  counsel  and  the  inspiration  of  his 
example.  He  paid  more  than  ordinary  attention  to  the  candi- 
dates for  the  ministry,  especially  to  their  examinations  and  ser- 
mons before  presbytery.  He  was  ready  with  kindly  criticism, 
which  was  always  of  a  practical  and  suggestive  character.  He 
was  generally  more  disposed  to  encourage  and  approve  than  to 
dishearten  and  disapprove.  His  aim  seemed  to  be  to  stimulate 
and  to  direct  in  the  way  of  improvement. 

Homiletics  was  the  doctor's  forte.  He  treated  it  as  a  science. 
He  studied  its  principles.  He  sought  to  put  them  into  practice. 
Early  in  his  ministry  he  displayed  his  knowledge,  aptitude,  and 
proficiency  in  this  line  of  study.  He  had  been  preaching  only 
about  ten  years  when  the  friends  of  the  Western  Theological 
Seminary  recognized  his  attainments,  natural  and  acquired,  in 
this  respect,  and  called  him  into  service  as  homiletical  lecturer 
in  this  institution.  During  my  day  (1858-61)  no  professor's 
room  was  more  sought  after  or  more  interesting  and  helpful. 
Both  the  character  of  the  lectures  and  the  manner  of  their  deliv- 
ery proved  attractive.  It  was  in  the  days  of  Professors  Elliott, 
Plumer,  Jacobus,  and  Wilson,  when  the  institution  was  enjoying 
an  era  of  unusual  prosperity,  and  when  it  had  the  largest  classes 
in  its  history,  and  the  addition  of  Dr.  Paxton  to  the  faculty  was 
counted  as  of  especial  value  and  interest.  The  note-book  was  in 
much  demand.  The  students  were  full  of  enthusiasm,  and  eager 
to  listen  and  improve.  Dr.  Paxton  retained  his  popularity  as 
homiletical  instructor  until  some  years  after  his  removal  to  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  New  York  City.  Much  regret  was 
felt  upon  his  departure  by  those  who  had  learned  to  appreciate  his 
worth  as  a  teacher,  as  well  as  by  the  people  of  his  charge,  who  loved 
him  greatly  and  honored  him  highly  as  pastor  and  preacher. 

Dr.  Paxton  during  his  pastorate  at  Pittsburgh  was  faithful 
and  fearless.  I  have  heard  him  preach  some  of  the  most  pointed, 
direct,  and  practical  sermons  to  his  wealthy  and  intellectual  con- 

71 


APPENDIX 

gregation  I  ever  heard  in  my  life.  He  spoke  to  saint  and  sin- 
ner with  the  utmost  freedom,  fidelity,  and  plainness.  He  sought 
to  edify  and  save.  He  preached  doctrinally  as  well  as  prac- 
tically. As  an  instance  of  his  power  to  bring  home  truth  so  as 
to  produce  immediate  effects,  I  remember  attending  his  church 
one  Sabbath  evening  with  a  companion  who  \v;is  not  a  profess- 
ing Christian.  His  audience  was  large  and  attentive.  He  was 
at  his  best.  He  took  as  his  theme  "Every  Christian  a  Mission- 
ary, ' '  drawn  from  the  text  James  5 :  20,  "  Let  him  know,  that  he 
which  converteth  the  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way  shall  save 
a  soul  from  death,  and  shall  hide  a  multitude  of  sins."  He 
developed  and  applied  the  truth  with  such  force,  pungency,  and 
directness,  and  brought  home  the  duty  of  speaking  to  sinners  and 
working  for  their  salvation  in  such  a  way,  that  I  could  not 
leave  my  young  friend  that  night  without  urging  him  to  be  a 
Christian. 

Dr.  Paxton  in  those  days  preached  with  the  fire  and  unction 
of  the  great  revival  of  1857-58,  and  his  large  mid-week  atten- 
dance attested  the  spiritual  fervor  he  awakened,  as  did  the 
frequent  and  numerous  accessions  to  his  church. 

Dr.  Paxton  served  the  First  Church  of  Pittsburgh  at  a  period 
when  that  city  and  Allegheny  had  their  pulpits  manned  by  some 
of  the  greatest  lights  of  western  Pennsylvania  and  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church;  but  he  stood  foremost  among  them  all.  Dr. 
Jacobus  was  preaching  in  the  Central  Church,  Dr.  Howard  in 
the  Second,  Dr.  David  Riddle  in  the  Third,  and  Dr.  Fulton  in 
the  Fourth.  Across  the  Allegheny  were  Dr.  Plumer  in  the  Cen- 
tral, and  Dr.  Swift  in  the  First  Church.  The  United  Presby- 
terian pulpit  had  such  men  as  Dr.  Black  and  the  Presleys.  But 
none  of  them  had  larger  congregations  or  more  winning  power 
as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel  than  Dr.  Paxton. 


72 


APPENDIX 


V 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  W.  B.  Noble,  Los  Angeles,  California 

DR.   PAXTON   AT   PITTSBURGH   AND   ALLEGHENY 

During  most  of  my  student  life  at  the  Western  Theological  Sem- 
inary Dr.  Paxton  was  pastor  of  the  First  Church  of  Pittsburgh, 
and  professor  of  homiletics  in  the  seminary.  His  removal  to 
New  York  deprived  my  class  of  a  portion  of  his  lectures,  greatly 
to  our  regret. 

He  was  then  at  the  zenith  of  his  manhood  and  power;  the 
First  Church  was  filled  on  Sabbaths  to  its  utmost  capacity,  his 
fame  was  widespread,  and  his  services  were  sought  for  special 
occasions  where  the  highest  oratorical  ability  was  required.  But 
among  his  numerous  and  varied  labors  there  was  none  which 
seemed  more  congenial  and  delightful  to  him  than  the  training 
of  his  students  in  the  principles  and  practice  of  the  great  art 
of  which  he  was  so  eminent  a  master.  Preaching  was,  in  his 
estimation,  the  one  thing  which  above  all  others  was  worth 
doing.  And  he  spared  no  pains  that  we  might  be  fitted  to  do  it, 
and  do  it  well.  Many  of  the  Allegheny  students  of  his  day  have 
in  later  years  confessed  their  indebtedness  to  him  for  their 
success  in  the  pulpit.  And  personally  I  may  truthfully  say  that 
I  owe  more  to  his  lectures  and  example  than  to  all  the  books 
on  homiletics  I  have  read  during  the  years  of  my  ministry, 
though  I  have  always  followed  Dr.  Dale's  advice  and  read  all 
the  books  on  the  subject  I  could  buy  or  borrow. 

The  great  variety  of  his  modes  of  treating  texts  of  Scripture, 
and  his  wonderful  skill  in  their  analysis,  are  remembered  by  all 
his  students.  He  sought  to  make  us  adepts  in  "rightly  divid- 
ing the  word  of  truth."  He  charged  us  "never  to  break  the 
bones  of  a  text,"  but  to  search  for  its  joints.  And  these  he 
himself  could  find  with  the  deftness  and  precision  of  an  expert 

73 


APPENDIX 

carver.  Yet  his  analysis  of  texts  was  not  a  mere  sleight-of-hand 
performance  designed  to  excite  wonder,  but  seemed  to  be  guided 
by  an  unerring  homiletic  instinct,  or  a  genius  for  bringing 
to  light  the  hidden  and  unexpected  riches  of  the  text.  And  his 
own  sermons,  while  containing  flights  of  eloquence  which  were 
lofty  and  sustained,  were  characterized  by  a  simplicity  of  lan- 
guage and  a  logical  order  of  treatment  that  fastened  them  in 
the  memory  of  the  hearer.  It  was  always  easy  to  give  a  satisfac- 
tory account  to  another  of  a  sermon  one  had  heard  Dr.  Paxton 
preach.  And  it  was  just  as  hard,  when  one  tried  to  preach 
upon  a  text  of  his,  to  forget  his  analysis  of  it  and  strike  out 
upon  an  original  line.  His  treatment  of  the  text  seemed  to  be 
the  only  right  and  possible  one. 

An  incident  in  my  own  experience  will  illustrate  this.  Dr. 
Paxton  encouraged  us  to  come  to  him  for  suggestions  on  the  texts 
assigned  to  us  for  trial  sermons  by  our  presbyteries  in  case  we 
had  any  perplexity  about  their  proper  treatment.  My  presby- 
tery had  given  me  as  a  text  Mark  3:35,  "For  whosoever  shall 
do  the  will  of  God,  the  same  is  my  brother,  and  my  sister,  and 
mother."  I  tried  hard,  but  could  not  find  the  "joints."  So 
I  went  to  Dr.  Paxton 's  study  one  evening,  and  submitted  the 
text  to  him.  He  opened  his  study  Bible  at  the  place,  and  said, 
"I  have  nothing  on  that  text."  He  rose  and  paced  the  floor  for 
two  or  three  minutes,  and  then  standing  before  me  said:  "The 
theme  of  this  text  is  Spiritual  Relationship  to  Christ.  I.  Its 
Superiority  to  Earthly  Relationship  ('brother,  sister,  mother'). 
It  is  (1)  more  intimate,  (2)  more  blessed,  (3)  more  enduring. 
II.  Its  Condition,  Obedience  ('doing  the  will  of  God').  This 
obedience  should  be  (1)  entire,  (2)  cordial,  (3)  persevering." 
I  went  out  of  the  study  wondering  why  /  could  not  have  thought 
of  that,  it  seemed  so  natural  and  easy;  but  querying  whether 
I  had  a  right  to  use  it,  full  of  rich  sermonic  material  as  it  was. 
And  yet  how  could  one  forget  it  and  follow  a  different  line? 
And  what  other  line  was  there  to  follow? 

Dr.  Paxton  usually  composed  his  sermons  and  committed 
them  to  memory  without  writing  them.  If  they  were  written 
at  all  it  was  after  their  delivery.  In  this  method  of  preparation 
he  has  few  followers,  I  think,  among  his  students.     His  bearing 

74 


APPENDIX 

in  the  pulpit  was  dignified,  his  action  graceful,  his  voice  sym- 
pathetic, his  articulation  distinct.  Physically,  intellectually,  and 
spiritually,  he  was  a  great  preacher  and  a  noble  man. 


VI 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  A.  McCurdy, 
Wilmington,  Delaware 

DR.  PAXTON  AT  ALLEGHENY 

I  cherish  the  memory  of  the  late  Rev.  "William  M.  Paxton, 
D.D.,  LL.D.,  as  one  of  the  choicest  treasures  of  my  life.  I  have 
always  considered  myself  fortunate  in  having  been  one  of  his 
students  when  he  was  in  the  chair  of  homiletics  in  the  Western 
Theological  Seminary,  and  one  of  his  frequent  auditors  when  he 
was  in  the  pulpit  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Pitts- 
burgh, Pennsylvania.  He  was  then  in  his  prime— a  tower  of 
strength,  and  a  bulwark  of  the  faith.  He  was  a  model  as  an 
orator,  a  preacher,  a  teacher,  and  a  friend.  To  listen  to  him 
was  a  delight;  and  to  know  him  was  to  admire  and  to  love  him. 
Being  of  fine  presence,  of  genial  courtliness  of  manner,  and  of 
gracefulness  of  speech  and  action,  he  attracted  and  held  the  at- 
tention of  his  hearers  from  start  to  finish  of  sermon  in  the 
pulpit,  and  of  lecture  in  the  class-room.  His  sermons  and  lec- 
tures had  the  symmetry  of  balanced  productions  well  wrought 
out  in  clearness  of  analysis  and  expression,  gracefully  delivered 
from  a  warm  and  sincere  heart. 

He  was  so  unique  in  the  charm  of  gracefulness  that  some  sup- 
posed him  to  be  mechanical,  cold,  and  difficult  of  approach ;  but 
they  soon  found  him  to  be  of  large  and  warm  heart,  and  the  most 
accessible  of  men.  He  had,  in  an  unusual  degree,  three  qualities 
which,  most  of  all,  left  their  indelible  impress  upon  his  students: 
the  radiant  clearness  of  his  sermons  and  lectures ;  the  compre- 
hensive and  exhaustive  analysis  of  his  subjects;  and  the  magni- 

75 


APPENDIX 

fieent  eloquence  of  his  language  and  action  in  argument  and  in 
appeal  when  preaching  and  lecturing.  I  still  hear  his  splendid 
voice  ringing  to  the  full  extent  of  its  register  when  unfolding 
the  doctrines  of  the  cross,  the  triumphs  of  faith,  the  certainty 
of  the  glory  beyond;  and  in  his  appeals  to  the  sinner  to  believe 
;md  be  saved.  And  I  still  hear  his  sweet  persuasiveness  in  his 
efforts  to  have  his  students  realize  the  solemnity  and  the  re- 
sponsibility of  "rightly  dividing  the  word." 

In  the  class-room  he  was  the  Christian  gentleman  finely  pol- 
ished. He  was  kind,  tender,  sympathetic  and  laborious  in  ef- 
forts to  have  his  students  learn  how  to  grasp  their  prayerfully 
chosen  texts;  and  "then  to  toss  them  as  balls  before  their  minds; 
and  then  to  grasp  them  with  an  unfaltering  faith  in  God;  and 
then  to  hold  on  to  them  until,  with  the  help  of  the  good  Spirit, 
they  were  clad  in  plain  and  simple  language  for  their  hearers." 
"My  dear  young  brethren,"  he  said,  "go  to  the  heart  of  your 
texts  as  quickly  as  possible.  Never  build  a  huge  portico  at  the 
threshold  of  your  sermon.  Let  your  introduction  be  brief;  let 
your  sermon  be  the  target,  and  your  introduction  be  the  rifle-ball 
which  hits  it  in  the  centre. ' ' 

He  was  so  clear  in  his  analysis  and  treatment  of  a  subject, 
and  so  sweet  and  charming  in  his  diction,  that  it  was  possible 
to  reproduce,  substantially,  from  memory  his  entire  sermon  and 
lecture.  On  one  occasion  he  was  asked  in  the  class-room,  "Pro- 
fessor, what  shall  I  do  with  the  texts  I  hear  you  preach  from? 
I  must  discard  them  altogether,  or  use  what  I  remember  of  your 
divisions  and  treatment  of  them. ' '  His  answer  was  characteristic 
of  his  sympathetic  helpfulness:  "My  dear  young  brethren, 
should  you  so  remember  any  sermon  I  preach,  I  shall  be  very 
glad.  Take  all  you  may  remember  and  use  it  prayerfully :  it  is 
yours  for  the  Master ;  and  if  I  can  in  any  sense  perpetuate  the 
truth  through  you,  let  God  have  the  praise. ' ' 

His  reverence  for  the  memory  of  the  sainted  Rev.  Archibald 
Alexander,  D.D.,  was  beautiful  and  intense.  On  one  occasion 
I  entered  the  study  of  that  prince  of  theologians,  the  Rev.  A.  A. 
Hodge,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  and  found  Dr.  Paxtou  present.  The  friend- 
ship of  Drs.  Paxton  and  Hodge  was  ardent  and  of  long  standing. 
These  giants  were  in  easy  ami  graphic  colloquy.     It  was  full  of 

76 


APPENDIX 

wit  and  repartee.  I  felt  that  I  was  with  boys,  and  was  wel- 
comed as  a  boy  is  welcomed  by  boys.  Dr.  Hodge,  addressing 
me,  said:  "What  do  you  think  that  Dr.  Paxton  was  telling  me? 
He  told  me  that  prophecy  ceased  with  John  the  Baptist;  and  I 
have  known  that  for  a  long  while."  "Yes,"  replied  Dr.  Paxton, 
"but  you  did  not  know  that  inspiration  ceased  with  Dr.  Alex- 
ander. He  was  the  greatest  man  with  whom  God  ever  adorned 
the  Church. "  "  Very  true :  I  was  called  for  him, ' '  said  Dr. 
Hodge.  "Yes,  but  if  you  ever  reach  his  acme,  you  will  find 
that  you  have  no  time  to  lose, ' '  was  Dr.  Paxton 's  reply ;  and  we 
all  indulged  in  a  hearty  laugh. 

Soon  afterwards  I  was  greatly  perplexed.  My  presbytery  had 
assigned  me  a  passage  of  Scripture  for  a  "popular  lecture" 
as  a  part  of  trial  for  licensure ;  and  I  could  make  nothing  of  it. 
I  had  searched  every  commentary  in  the  library  and  returned 
to  my  room  disgusted  by  the  absence  of  any  exposition  of  it  by 
these  masters  of  the  Word.  This  and  that  professor  had  referred 
me  to  correlative  passages,  but  I  found  these  as  dark  and  ab- 
struse as  was  the  passage  assigned  me.  I  spoke  to  Dr.  Paxton. 
' '  Come  and  take  tea  with  me  this  evening,  and  we  will  talk  about 
the  passage."  Turning  to  the  passage,  he  exclaimed:  "Well, 
I  am  surprised  that  this  passage  should  be  assigned  to  any  one 
for  a  'popular  lecture.'  I  have  studied  it  for  more  than  two 
years  and  have  examined  every  available  expositor,  and  have 
never  found  even  a  satisfactory  suggestion.  The  best  that  I  can 
make  out  of  it  is,  The  Future  Glory  of  the  Redeemer's  Kingdom 
stated  in  antithetical  clauses;  but  that  is  not  clear.  If  you 
should  take  that  view  of  it,  I  don't  think  that  your  presbytery 
will  object."    My  presbytery  did  not  object. 

It  was  a  sad  hour  to  the  students  and  friends  of  the  seminary 
and  to  the  noble  people  of  the  First  Church  when  he  felt  con- 
strained to  surrender  his  professorship  and  pulpit.  His  hold 
on  the  hearts  of  all  was  strong;  and  in  their  esteem  he  stood 
like  a  tower  great  and  symmetrical  from  base  to  apex.  His  name 
and  fame  as  a  man  of  God  and  as  an  orator  and  preacher  were 
in  Pittsburgh  and  in  all  the  region  round  about.  In  the  home 
and  foreign  fields,  and  wherever  there  is  a  minister  who  was 
his  pupil,  there  is  in  his  heart  a  monument  sacred  to  the  memory 

77 


APPENDIX 

of  the  late  William  M.  Paxton.  Every  one  of  his  surviving  stu- 
dents knows  that  he  was  a  lifter  of  gloom  and  a  dispeller  of 
doubt  and  sadness.  Love  beamed  in  his  eye,  generosity  leaped 
from  his  hand,  and  sympathetic  fire  blazed  in  his  heart.  Noble 
man  of  God!  He  lived  not  unto  himself,  but  unto  Him  who 
died  for  him  and  rose  again. 

"My  father,  my  father,  the  chariot  of  Israel,  and  the  horse- 
men thereof!" 


VII 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  W.  Dinsmore,  San  Jose,  California 

DR.   PAXTON   AT   PITTSBURGH   AND   ALLEGHENY 

...  I  entered  the  seminary  at  Allegheny  in  the  fall  of  1859, 
and  there  continued  till  the  spring  of  1862.  On  entering  the 
seminary,  I  immediately  began  attending  services  in  the  First 
Church  of  Pittsburgh,  of  which  Dr.  Paxton  was  pastor.  During 
my  course  in  Allegheny  I  attended  there  regularly  on  Sabbath 
morning,  and  very  often  in  the  evening,  but  as  the  distance  from 
my  rooms  was  long,  I  did  not  attend  constantly  in  the  evening. 
I  think  it  was  at  the  beginning  of  my  second  year  that  he  began 
giving  lectures  in  the  seminary  on  Homiletics,  or,  as  it  was  called, 
Sacred  Rhetoric.  It  was  understood  that  his  service  was  rendered 
gratuitously. 

During  the  time  I  am  speaking  of,  he  was  thirty-five  to  thirty- 
eight  years  of  age,  in  the  exuberant  strength  of  his  young  and 
splendid  manhood  ;  and  while  as  yet,  no  doubt,  he  had  not  reached 
the  full  maturity  of  his  powers,  he  was  at  that  age  when,  in  the 
estimation  of  young  men  and  in  his  ability  to  command  their  in- 
terest and  admiration,  he  was  in  his  very  prime.  In  common 
with  most  of  my  fellow-students,  I  soon  came  to  hold  him  in 
very  high  respect;  and  not  only  so,  but  to  cherish  for  him  a 
sincere  affection.  This  respect  and  affection  continued  while 
he  lived,  and  the  feeling  is  still  cherished  for  his  memory  now 

78 


APPENDIX 

that  he  is  gone.  As  a  preacher  (I  speak  of  him  as  he  was  in  those 
days)  he  was  closely  textual,  and  usually  very  analytical  and  elab- 
orate in  his  treatment  of  his  theme,  perhaps  rather  too  much  so 
for  popular  effect.  He  always  gave  himself  plenty  of  time,  and,  as 
a  rule,  took  the  full  hour.  He  set  his  sermon  squarely  on  his  text 
as  a  tree  stands  on  its  tap-root ;  sent  out  smaller  roots  all  through 
the  context ;  the  trunk  was  short  and  stocky ;  then  he  threw  out 
the  great  branches,  following  each  to  its  smaller  limbs  and  even 
twigs,  until  his  sermon  stood  complete,  symmetrical  and  stately, 
like  one  of  the  great  live-oaks  of  California.  His  sermons  were 
exceedingly  full  of  instruction  in  rich  and  precious  biblical  truth, 
but  perhaps  not  so  kindling  and  moving  as  they  would  have  been 
if  framed  more  on  the  synthetic  method,  and  so  made  to  focalize 
in  a  point,  and  thus  bore  and  burn  into  the  mind  of  the  hearer. 
His  literary  style  was  clear,  methodical,  and  elevated,  but  want- 
ing somewhat  in  the  warmth  and  glow  which  come  of  a  lively 
imagination  and  strong  emotionalism.  His  appearance,  address, 
and  action  in  the  pulpit  were  those  of  an  Apollo.  A  more  grace- 
ful man  I  have  never  seen  in  pulpit  or  on  platform.  Tall,  slen- 
der, erect,  faultlessly  attired,  every  motion  was  easy,  natural, 
dignified,  and  all  in  perfect  taste.  He  wore  no  gown  in  the  pulpit 
in  those  days,  but  always  the  conventional  dress-coat,  which 
would  look  very  odd  in  our  time,  but  which  was  the  custom  then. 
He  was  not  a  preacher  after  whom  the  town  would  run,  but  he 
had  a  strong  hold  on  the  admiration  and  affectionate  interest  of 
the  large,  strong,  solid,  and  rather  old-fashioned  congregation 
he  served. 

His  lectures  in  the  seminary  were  very  popular  with  the  stu- 
dents and  were  largely  attended.  They  were  the  only  lectures 
given  in  the  seminary  in  my  time  of  which  I  took  full  notes. 
The  notes  of  his  lectures  I  still  have  packed  away  somewhere. 
These  lectures  were  written  out  in  full  and  read  from  the  desk. 
In  the  pulpit,  however,  I  cannot  recall  ever  having  seen  him  use 
a  scrap  of  paper.  Whatever  may  have  been  his  method  later, 
his  way  of  preparing  his  sermons  then,  as  he  told  me  himself, 
was  to  write  absolutely  nothing,  but  simply,  walking  up  and 
down  in  his  study,  to  elaborate  his  sermon  and  articulate  it  down 
to  the  smallest  particular,  and  thus  write  it  on  his  mind.     He 

79 


APPENDIX 

once  told  me  that  when  he  was  a  young  licentiate  he  preached 
in  a  church  where  Hon.  James  Buchanan,  afterwards  President 
of  the  United  States,  w;is  among  his  hearers.  Mr.  Buchanan  was 
an  old  friend  of  young  Paxton 's  family,  and  so  much  interested 
in  him.  After  the  service,  Mr.  Buchanan  took  him  aside,  and 
said  to  him :  ' '  William,  as  one  who  has  had  much  experience  in 
public  speaking,  and  who  has  heard  a  great  deal  of  the  best  of 
it,  and  as  your  friend,  I  wish  to  give  you  a  little  advice.  Now, 
that  sermon  you  gave  us  to-day  was  written  out  in  full  and  com- 
mitted to  memory,  was  n  't  it  ?  I  knew  it  because  I  could  see  that 
you  were  looking  into  the  back  of  your  head  for  your  sermon, 
instead  of  putting  yourself  out  upon  your  congregation.  Now 
that  is  mere  drudgery  and  will  weaken  you.  Either  write  out 
in  full  and  read  your  manuscript  freely,  or  study  your  sub- 
ject thoroughly  and  then  speak  directly  to  the  people  out  of  a 
full  mind  and  mastery  of  your  subject."  Dr.  Paxton  said  he 
determined  to  act  on  this  advice,  and  had  so  acted  ever  since. 
But  the  question  might  be  raised  whether  there  is  much  dif- 
ference between  writing  out  on  paper  and  committing  to  memory, 
and  writing  out  to  the  last  word  on  the  mind,  and  then  repro- 
ducing it  from  that  tablet. 

Dr.  Paxton  took  great  interest  in  his  pupils,  at  least  in  such 
as  he  came  to  know  at  all  well.  I  remember  that,  on  my  leaving 
the  seminary,  without  the  least  suggestion  from  me,  he  handed 
me  a  strong  letter  of  commendation,  a  much  stronger  one  than 
I  deserved;  and  that  later  he  took  much  interest  in  my  getting 
on.  Two  or  three  years  after  my  graduation,  his  health  be- 
came somewhat  impaired,  and  he  was  from  home  a  good  deal. 
He  made  several  trips  to  Minnesota,  and  there  spent  considerable 
time.  He  became  deeply  interested  in  the  opening  missionary 
work  in  the  Northwest,  and  especially  in  such  of  his  "own  boys" 
as  were  missionaries  in  that  region.  Once  he  came  to  the  town  of 
Portage,  Wisconsin,  where  a  friend  and  classmate  of  mine  was 
at  work,  picked  him  up,  and  in  an  open  wagon,  on  a  hot  summer 
day,  rode  twenty-eight  miles  over  bad  roads  to  visit  me  for  two 
or  three  days  in  the  little  village  where  I  was  then  at  work. 
That  visit  cost  him  no  little  weariness,  but  it  did  me  no  little  good. 
No  wonder  we  loved  him.    In  truth,  he  was  a  very  high-minded 

80 


APPENDIX 

and  noble-hearted  man ;  a  princely  man ;  a  man  to  believe  in 
and  rely  upon ;  one  whom  it  was  a  pleasure  to  serve  as  a  senior, 
and  an  honor  to  have  as  a  friend.  I  am  glad  to  have  the  op- 
portunity of  laying  this  little  tribute  on  his  honored  grave. 


VIII 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Robert  R.  Booth,  New  York 

DR.  PAXTON  IN  NEW  YORK 

I  think  it  was  about  the  year  1866  that  Dr.  Paxton  came  to 
New  York  and  settled  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church.  I  was 
then  in  the  Mercer  Street  Church,  near  at  hand ;  but  there  was 
very  little  fellowship  in  those  days  between  the  ministers  of  the 
two  branches— indeed,  we  scarcely  ever  met,  and  for  a  time  it 
seemed  as  if  Dr.  Paxton  was  rather  indisposed  to  have  fellow- 
ship with  those  of  the  other  branch.  He  came  at  a  time  when 
such  men  as  Dr.  Spring,  Dr.  Krebs,  and  Dr.  Potts  had  passed 
away,  and  entered  the  front  rank  by  reason  of  his  splendid 
talents  and  his  prominent  pastoral  position.  He  was  somewhat 
strongly  opposed  to  the  reunion  of  1870,  but  accepted  it  grace- 
fully when  the  Church  had  so  determined.  His  attitude,  from 
that  time  on,  was  one  of  the  most  loyal  and  affectionate  adherence 
to  the  interests  of  the  united  Church,  especially  as  represented 
in  the  Presbytery  of  New  York.  His  influence  was  commanding, 
and  the  confidence  and  affection  of  his  brethren  toward  him 
became  great. 

The  benevolence  of  his  church  was  a  marked  feature  of  his 
ministry.  Year  by  year,  at  that  period,  streams  of  benevolence 
were  poured  forth  in  every  direction.  The  Presbyterian  Hospi- 
tal was  originated  in  connection  with  the  benevolences  of  Mr. 
Lenox,  largely  under  Dr.  Paxton 's  supervision.  The  work  of 
the  Church  Extension  Committee  was  also  very  prominent  in 
this  regard,  and  much  was  done  by  him  and  his  people  to  es- 

81 


APPENDIX 

tablish  new  enterprises  or  to  relieve  the  old  churches  of 
debt. 

He  speedily  became  a  member  of  the  Chi  Alpha  Society  and 
entered  with  great  regularity  of  attendance  upon  its  weekly  re- 
unions. He  was  also  an  acting  professor  in  Union  Theological 
Seminary.  His  labors  during  this  period  of  his  New  York  min- 
istry were  immense,  and  yet  they  were  transacted  with  a  calm- 
ness and  equipoise  which  never  failed  to  impress  one  with  the 
sense  of  a  reserve  power.  The  affectionateness  of  his  dispo- 
sition in  his  churchly  relation  endeared  him  to  all.  and  where 
in  the  old  times  of  separation  there  had  been  alienation  or  strife, 
his  influence  was  at  once  graciously  felt,  and  inspired  full  con- 
fidence between  brethren  who  had  been  united  in  the  reunion 
of  1870.  After  departing  from  New  York  for  his  Princeton  field, 
he  continued  to  retain  his  relations  to  the  Presbytery  of  New 
York,  and  his  position  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions.  It  is  altogether  fitting  to  say  that  his  whole  life,  as 
it  comes  now  under  review,  has  been  stainless  in  its  integrity, 
most  gracious  in  its  benevolence,  and  powerful  for  good  in  every 
relation  of  life  into  which  he  entered. 

Let  me  add  an  allusion  to  the  singular  harmony  which  charac- 
terized Dr.  Paxton's  relations  to  the  ministry  of  the  late  New 
School,  as  soon  as  the  union  had  been  accomplished.  With  such 
men  as  Dr.  Adams,  Dr.  Crosby,  Dr.  Robinson,  and  myself,  he 
became  extremely  intimate,  and  was  happy  to  engage  in  the 
interchange  of  ministerial  services. 

Another  thing  I  would  mention  is  the  doctrinal  harmony  which 
existed  at  that  time  in  the  Presbytery  of  New  York  among  the 
ministers  with  whom  he  was  associated.  We  were  all  loyally 
true  to  the  Confession  of  Faith,  and  felt  no  difficulty  in  working 
under  that  honored  symbol.  There  was  no  doctrinal  friction 
in  our  intercourse,  and  during  his  twenty  years  of  life  in  New 
York  absolute  harmony  of  feeling  and  effectiveness  of  action 
reigned  in  the  presbytery.  It  was  a  great  loss  to  us  when  his 
departure  to  Princeton  removed  his  influence  from  us. 


82 


APPENDIX 


IX 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  F.  F.  Ellinwood,  New  York 

DR.   PAXTON   AND   THE  BOARD  OF  FOREIGN   MISSIONS 

.  .  .  The  first  time  I  ever  saw  Dr.  Paxton  was  at  the  Old  School 
General  Assembly  which  was  held  in  Rochester  in  1860.  Dur- 
ing the  sessions  of  that  Assembly,  he  preached  in  my  pulpit 
(the  Central  Presbyterian)  a  sermon  not  easy  to  be  forgotten. 
He  took  for  his  text  the  words,  "Being  confident  of  this  very 
thing,  that  he  which  hath  begun  a  good  work  in  you  will  perform 
it  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ." 

He  must  have  been  about  thirty-six  years  of  age,  and  was  un- 
derstood at  that  time  to  be  the  leading  Presbyterian  preacher  in 
Pittsburgh.  He  was  a  young  man  of  remarkably  fine  appearance, 
straight  and  manly  in  stature,  courtly  and  yet  easy  in  manner ; 
and  as  he  stood  upon  the  platform,  without  a  note  before  him, 
and  delivered  his  discourse  to  a  large  audience  which  filled 
every  part  of  the  church,  aisles  included,  he  made  an  impression 
which  was  most  deeply  felt  by  every  hearer.  His  elegance  of 
diction,  beauty  and  aptness  of  illustration,  were  quite  in  keep- 
ing with  his  attractive  personality.  From  the  standpoint  of  a 
young  preacher,  I  was  specially  interested  in  the  discourse  as  a 
model  of  sermonizing  and  delivery,  and  was  not  surprised  to 
learn  later  that  he  occupied  the  chair  of  homiletics  in  the  sem- 
inary at  Allegheny. 

I  think  his  attendance  at  the  Assembly  at  Rochester  made  a 
deep  impression  upon  that  body  and  upon  the  whole  Church. 
Not  more  than  two  or  three  years  ago  he  informed  me  that  in- 
fluences springing  from  that  Assembly  led  to  very  important 
changes  in  the  direction  of  his  life. 

I  saw  little  if  anything  of  Dr.  Paxton  from  that  time  till 
we  met  in  the  sessions  of  the  Foreign  Board,  he  as  a  member  and 

83 


APPENDIX 

I  as  a  secretary.  It  was  understood  that  he  sympathized  with 
those  who  were  not  without  serious  apprehension  at  the  reunion 
of  the  Church,  and  that  in  any  questions  which  might  arise  he 
might  be  expected  to  stand  on  the  conservative  side;  but  his 
conservatism  was  always  based  chiefly,  if  not  wholly,  upon  doc- 
trinal grounds.  To  the  very  last  he  stood  firmly  for  orthodoxy, 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  on  all  questions  which  involved  ways 
and  means  and  the  aggressive  development  of  missionary  policy, 
he  was  on  the  side  of  progress.  His  face  was  always  turned 
forward  and  not  backward.  His  opinions  in  the  discussions  of 
the  Board  were  always  stated  with  great  clearness  and  frankness, 
and  carried  unusual  weight.  He  was  honored,  revered,  and  be- 
loved by  his  fellow-members  and  by  the  executive  officers. 

If  a  heavy  debt  was  to  be  raised,  whether  for  the  current  work 
or  for  clearing  the  Mission  House  of  heavy  liabilities,  Dr.  Pax- 
ton  was  among  the  first  and  the  largest  subscribers ;  and  many 
are  the  instances  in  which  he  showed  deep  sympathy  for  mis- 
sionaries who  were  suffering  peculiar  hardships  or  infirmity. 
Though  strong  and  even  stern  in  his  principles,  he  was  pecu- 
liarly tender-hearted. 

A  few  years  ago  he  occupied  a  camp  or  cottage  near  my  own 
in  the  Adirondacks,  where  I  had  opportunity  to  see  something 
of  his  family  life.  There  and  in  his  home  in  Princeton,  I  al- 
ways received  the  impression  of  a  model  husband  and  father, 
as  well  as  a  most  hospitable  and  genial  host. 

His  fidelity  and  deep  sense  of  duty  were  shown  especially  in 
the  last  five  years  of  his  life,  when,  with  increasing  bodily  in- 
firmity, he  maintained  an  exemplary  regularity  in  his  attendance 
upon  the  meetings  of  the  Board,  coming  even  in  inclement 
weather,  wrapped  in  his  ulster,  and  careful  to  conserve  his 
strength  by  taking  a  short  nap  on  my  lounge  before  the  meet- 
ing, in  order  that  he  might  stand  in  his  lot  and  discharge  his 
duties  to  the  great  Head  of  the  Church.  When  at  the  last  few 
meetings  we  marked  his  absence,  we  were  confident  that  the  end 
was  probably  near.  When  his  eightieth  birthday  came,  the 
Board  were  anxious  to  greet  him  with  an  informal  celebration 
of  the  event;  but  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  decline  the  honor,  evi- 
dently fearing  that  the  journey  and  the  occasion  would  be  too 

84 


APPENDIX 

much  for  his  strength.  I  may  properly  say  that  he  was  not 
only  honored  but  deeply  beloved  by  every  member  of  the  Board, 
and  that  his  loss  will  continue  to  be  greatly  felt. 


X 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Chauncey  T.  Edwards,  Portville,  New  York 

DR.  PAXTON  AT  PRINCETON 

The  first  sermon  I  remember  hearing  from  Dr.  Paxton  was  in 
the  old  First  Church  of  Pittsburgh.  He  was  visiting  his  old 
parish,  the  audience  was  large  and  the  service  more  than  usu- 
ally impressive,  and  the  sermon  was  fully  equal  to  the  occa- 
sion. He  spoke  from  the  words  ''Christ  died  for  us,"  discuss- 
ing, not  the  doctrine,  but  three  practical  inferences  from  it; 
he  spoke  without  notes,  went  right  at  his  audience,  and  held 
them  to  the  end  of  the  sermon.  He  had  passages  of  simple, 
unforced  pathos,  enthusiastic  rhetoric,  homely  commonplace,  and 
kindly  monitory  appeal.  It  was  good  to  hear,  and  even  more 
to  remember  pleasantly  and  helpfully. 

The  plain  and  attractive  practicality  of  that  sermon  seemed 
to  me  characteristic  of  his  teaching  in  Princeton.  He  was  just 
beginning  his  professorship  when  I  entered  the  seminary.  I 
do  not  know  how  later  years  may  have  changed  him  (though 
I  never  saw  any  change  in  his  manner  or  spirit  when  I  met 
him),  but  at  that  time  he  was  fresh  from  his  two  long  pastor- 
ates, and  he  was  eminently  a  pastor  in  the  pastoral  chair.  The 
teaching  was  concrete,  and  was  apt  to  be  illustrated  by  stories 
of  Christian  experience  and  personal  work.  He  taught  not  so 
much  the  philosophy  but  the  art;  without  claptrap  or  gush, 
but  with  devotional  spirituality,  on  a  high  level  and  with  just 
balance.  He  did  not  make,  for  instance,  a  hobby  of  eschatology, 
missions,  science,  temperance,  or  revivals,  but  I  can  recall  that 
he  worked  them  all  in.     He  showed  a  wide  and  tender  acquain- 

85 


APPENDIX 

tance  with  human  need  and  the  Christian  remedy,  and  uncon- 
sciously gave  the  impression  that  so  rich  a  heart  would  leave  the 
world  better  for  having  lived. 

This  made  his  teaching  of  ecclesiastical  law  especially  pleas- 
ant. He  was  a  stout  Presbyterian,  and  bated  no  jot  of  constitu- 
tion or  deliverance,  but  he  was  not  dry  nor  deadly  technical. 
He  evidently  knew  the  law  and  had  seen  its  practical  workings, 
but  he  never  forgot  that  the  great  thing  was  the  life  and  prog- 
ress of  the  Church,  and  that  ecclesiasticism  was  not  an  end  in 
itself. 

But  above  all  to  our  comfort  and  help  was  his  exaltation  of 
preaching.  He  was  a  scholar  in  sermon  literature,  and  illustra- 
ted abundantly  from  the  masters  of  the  pulpit.  His  criticism 
of  the  student's  analysis,  emphasis,  and  illustration  was  sym- 
pathetic. I  remember  especially  his  story  of  how  Mr.  Buchanan 
once  gave  him  his  idea,  as  a  stump-speaker,  of  the  way  to  make 
a  sermon — one  of  the  best  things  I  ever  heard  of  Mr.  Buchanan. 
It  was  in  a  long  walk  at  Bedford,  after  a  sermon  by  Dr.  Paxton, 
who  was  then  a  young  man  in  his  first  pastorate.  "First,"  said 
Mr.  Buchanan,  "must  be  steady  concentration  on  the  central 
idea  of  the  text,  the  absorbing  of  its  aim  and  spirit;  then  the 
correlating  and  viewing  it  on  all  sides ;  then  rolling  it  over, 
bandying  it  about,  tossing  it  up,  throwing  it  this  way  and  that ; 
and  finally  aiming  it  at  the  people  for  whom  it  was  prepared ; 
till  the  preacher  was  full  of  the  sense  of  a  message  to  deliver, 
and  the  method  of  delivery  became  of  secondary  importance.'' 
It  was  a  long  story,  humorous  and  vigorously  told,  and  inspiring 
in  a  class-room.  I  do  not  know  how  Dr.  Paxton  felt  about  the 
recent  methods  of  multiplying  organizations  and  new  schemes,— 
though  I  do  not  doubt  that  he  recognized  the  good  in  many  of 
them,— but  I  am  sure  he  must  to  the  end  have  agreed  with 
Dr.  Patton  (in  his  lecture  on  the  Sermon)  that  "the  best  method 
of  sustaining  an  interest  from  year  to  year  is  that  of  the 
careful  preparation  of  sermons,"  and  that  "the  production  of 
sermons  should  be  the  great  effort  of  the  minister." 

Professor  Austin  Phelps's  writing  seems  to  me  to  show  much 
of  the  spirit  and  elevation  of  Dr.  Paxton 's  work.  I  believe  he 
aimed  to  make  the  homiletical  class-room  the  "assembling-room/' 

86 


APPENDIX 

gathering  together  the  work  of  all  the  class-rooms;  the  fusing 
of  the  rays  of  scholarship  and  workaday  life  into  the  white  light 
of  the  ministry.  That  was  a  fine  aim,  and  he  illustrated  what  he 
taught.     I  give  thanks  upon  every  remembrance  of  him. 


XI 

From  the  Rev.  Professor  Benjamin  L.  Hobson,  D.D.,  Chicago 

DR.    PAXTON   AT   PRINCETON 

Dr.  Paxton  came  to  Princeton  as  a  professor  at  the  beginning 
of  my  middle  year.  Dr.  McGill  was  still  living,  but  had  given 
up  entirely  the  conduct  of  the  chair,  so  that  Dr.  Paxton  entered 
at  once  upon  full  work  with  all  the  classes.  When  we  first  met 
him,  we  noted  his  erect  figure,  strong  yet  kindly  face,  and  courtly 
manners.  He  took  a  great  deal  of  personal  interest  in  the  stu- 
dents from  the  start,  and  used  to  invite  them  to  his  house  fre- 
quently,— sometimes  by  twos  and  threes,  and  sometimes  in  larger 
numbers.  As  we  grew  to  know  him  better,  both  in  and  outside 
the  class-room,  we  learned  to  appreciate  his  simple,  fervent,  yet 
unostentatious  piety.  The  quality  of  his  nature  which  impressed 
us  most,  perhaps,  was  the  sympathetic  one.  Probably  the  great 
majority  of  his  old  students  would  name  this  as  the  predominant 
note  in  his  character.  It  beamed  from  his  entire  face,  and  we 
felt  that  we  had  before  us  not  the  traditional  dry-as-dust  theo- 
logian, but  a  man  of  big  heart;  a  man  who  was  not  merely  our 
professor,  but  who,  if  the  need  should  arise,  would  prove  him- 
self a  personal  friend.  I  recall  once  a  scene  when  Moody  came 
to  the  old  First  Church  and  held  a  short  revival  service.  After 
the  regular  meeting  another  one  was  held  in  the  inquiry-room. 
Dr.  Paxton  was  present,  and  I  see  him  now,  his  face  working  with 
emotion,  too  much  overcome  at  one  time  by  his  feelings  to  be 
able  to  lead  in  prayer.  The  next  day,  in  the  class-room,  he  told 
us  he  was  homesick  for  the  pastorate. 


APPENDIX 

As  a  teacher,  Dr.  Paxton  was  comprehensive  and  systematic 
in  his  treatment  of  his  subject,  simple  and  direct  in  his  style 
of  presenting  it,  and  earnest  and  faithful  in  requiring  of  the 
students  a  mastery  of  the  lectures.  As  a  critic  of  our  sermon- 
outlines  read  in  the  class-room  and  of  our  full-blown  sermons 
preached  in  what  is  now  called  Miller  Chapel,  he  was  just  and 
judicious,  candid  yet  considerate.  He  could  be  severe  sometimes 
when  he  thought  that  a  student  exhibited  inordinate  conceit  or 
downright  frivolity  in  a  sermon.  But  in  general  his  criticisms 
were  kind  and  always  helpful.  He  had  a  happy  knack  of  point- 
ing out  a  man's  strong  points  and  commending  them,  while  at  the 
same  time  he  called  attention  to  the  weak  ones  and  cautioned 
against  them. 

Dr.  Paxton  was  popular  as  a  preacher  with  the  students  and 
in  the  town.  His  themes  were  taken  from  a  wide  field,  ranging 
from  the  strictly  theological  to  the  intensely  practical.  The  dis- 
courses themselves  were  always  carefully  prepared  and  full  of 
thought.  They  were  analytical  in  their  structure  and  always 
clear  in  the  line  of  thought  pursued.  They  were  delivered  with- 
out notes,  yet  the  language  was  chaste,  the  sentences  well  rounded, 
and  the  utterance  fluent.  Dr.  Paxton  was  an  admirable  public 
speaker.  His  voice  was  clear  and  penetrating,  his  articulation 
distinct,  his  gestures  and,  in  fact,  all  his  movements  graceful. 
Calm,  deliberate,  self-contained,  he  had  always  complete  com- 
mand of  himself,  and  made  the  impression  of  great  reserve- 
power.  All  of  us  felt  that  it  was  no  wonder  he  had  been  able 
to  sustain  himself  so  long  and  successfully  in  the  pulpit  of  the 
First  Church,  New  York. 

The  last  time  I  saw  him  was  about  a  year  before  his  death. 
Although  he  seemed  somewhat  feeble  physically,  he  was  mentally 
alert,  and  as  deeply  interested  as  ever  in  the  affairs  of  the  sem- 
inary, which  had  ever  been  the  special  object  of  his  pride  and 
affection.  As  I  took  leave  of  him  in  his  study,  I  knew  it  was 
probably  our  last  meeting  in  this  world,  and  I  felt  that  it  had 
been  a  benediction  to  pass  a  few  minutes  in  the  presence  of  this 
man  of  God  before  his  translation. 


88 


NOTES 


Rev.  William 

Miller  Paxton, 

D.D.  LL.D. 

6.  7  June,  1824 
d.  28  November,  1904 


Col.  James 
Dun  lop  Paxton 

b.  June  11,  1796 

in  Adams  Co.,  Pa. 

tn.  March  18,  1*1!) 

by  Rev.  Wll.  Paxton, 

D.D. 
d.  February  10.  1864 

in  Baltimore 

buried  Gettysburg, 

Pa. " 

Iron-master 

Partner  of  Thaddeus 

st  evens 

Firm  J.  D.  Paxton 

&CO. 

Caledonia  Iron 

Works 


Rev.  William 

I'axton,  D.D. 

b.  April  1.  1760 

m.  January  20,  iT'.tt 

./.  April  16,  184.-. 


Capt.  John  Paxton  . 

h.  Inland,  i74n 

d.  August  8,  1828 

Capt.  Pa,  Militia 
1776  and  1777 

Kl.br  in  Middle 
Oetorara  Church 


Private  in  his  father's 

company  in  Penna. 

militia  in  1770 


Jane  Dcnlop 

b.  February  13,  1772 

d.  November  14,  1862 

aged  91 


Jane  McNeely 


Col.  James  Dinlop 

b.  1727 
d.  December  15,  1821 

aged  94 


Major  6th  Pa.,  1776 

Lieut. -Col.  10th  Pa. 

1777 

Colonel,  1778 


Jane  Boggs 


John  Paxton 

emigrated  from 

Ireland  about  1744 


Gback 


William  Dunlop 

emigrated  from 
Ireland  about  1730 

Said  to  have  lived 
to  be  115  vears  old 


Was  a  ruling  elder 

in  Presbvtery  of 

TjTone.  "Ireland, 

in  1712 


Debop.ah 


Andrew  Boqgs 
of  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa. 


Ann  Patton 


Hugh  Miller 


I-  Jane  Maria  Miller  , 

b.  January  18,  1707 

in  Adams  Co.,  Pa. 

d.  April  29,  1870 

in  Baltimore 

buried  Gettysburg, 

Pa. 


Hon.  William 

Miller 

6.  1755 

m.  March  16,  1784 

d.  June  3,  1831 


John  Miller 
bought  a  large  tract  of 
land  in  Adams  Co., 
Pa.,  and  lived  there    . 
prior  to  Revolution    >■ 


Isabella  Henry 


Ensign,  1776 

2d  Lieutenant 

1st  Lieutenant,  1777 

Captain,  1779-1781 

7th  Reg.  Penna.  Line 

In  Legislature  of 

Pennsylvania 

20  years 


Margaret  <'k\ig 

b.  March  16,  L766 

./   February  11,  1844 


Tikis.  Craig 
b.  1788 
(/.  1813 


Private,   177". 

Quartermaster,  1777 
<  lorn,  of  Purchases 
for  Butler  Oo.,  L780 


.Tank  JAMISON 


Daniel  Cbaig 
b. 
d.  1776 


Margaret 


Henry  Jamison 

6.  1676 
d  1766 


Mart  Stewart 


NOTES 

The  following  notes  and  documents  will  supply  some  of  the 
salient  facts  in  Dr.  Paxton's  life  in  more  detail  than  was  pos- 
sible in  an  address,  and  thus  give  body  to  the  outline  of  his  career 
which  was  there  sketched. 

I  Dr.  Paxton's  Ancestry.— An  account  of  the  Paxton  family  is  given 
in  a  volume  entitled  The  Paxtons-By  W.  M.  Paxton,  of  Platte  City,  Mo. 
(Platte  City,  Mo.,  1903.  8vo,  pp.  420+68).  The  immediate  family  connec- 
tion of  Dr.  Paxton  will  be  found  on  pp.  390  seq. 

A  very  interesting  biographical  sketch  of  the  Eev.  Dr.  William  Paxton, 
of  Lower  Marsh  Creek  Church,  from  the  pen  of  the  Kev.  Dr.  David  McCon- 
aughy,  is  printed  in  Dr.  William  B.  Sprague's  Annals  of  the  American 
Pulpit,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  554-558;  cf.  also  the  sketch  by  the  Eev.  Dr.  E. 
Erskine,  in  the  Centennial  Memorial  of  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle  (Har- 
risburg,'  1889),  Vol.  II,  pp.  82-89.  For  the  Lower  Marsh  Creek  Church, 
see  the'  same  work,  Vol.  I,  pp.  216-217,  and  also  a  pamphlet,  entitled  The 
Centennial  Exercises  of  Lower  Marsh  Creelc  Presbyterian  Church,  Adams 
County,  Pennsylvania,  September  25,  1890. 

The  table  facing  this  page  will  give  a  condensed  view  of  Dr.  Paxton's 
ancestry. 

II.     Chief  Facts  in  Dr.  Paxton's  Life. -The  chief  facts  in  Dr.   Pax- 
ton 's  life  are  the  following : 

Born  at  Maria  Furnace,  Adams  County,  Pennsylvania,  June  7,  1824; 
attended  school  at  Gettysburg;  graduated  from  Pennsylvania  College,  1843; 
studied  law  two  years  at  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  with  Hon.  George 
Chambers;  united  with  Falling  Spring  Church,  Chambersburg,  March, 
1845;  received  as  candidate  for  the  ministry  under  the  care  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  Carlisle,  April  9,  1845;  entered  Princeton  Theological  Seminary, 
autumn,  1845;  licensed  by  Presbytery  of  Carlisle  at  Shippensburg,  June 
1,  1847;  called  to  the  church  of  Greencastle,  Pennsylvania,  February  14, 
1848;  graduated  from  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  spring,  1848; 
ordained  and  installed  pastor  of  the  church  at  Greencastle,  October  4, 
1848;  called  to  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania, 
November  4,  1850;  installed  pastor  of  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Pittsburgh,  January  28,  1851;  married,  August  11,  1852,  Miss  Hester  V. 

91 


NOTES 

B.  Wickes  of  Chestertown,  Maryland,  who  died  August  13,  1854,  and  her 
child,  September  7,  1854;  married  Miss  Caroline  Sophia  Denny,  November 
8,  1855;  elected  Professor  of  Sacred  Khetoric  at  the  "Western  Theological 
Seminary,  Allegheny,  May,  1860,  and  served  in  this  office  until  April, 
1872;  called  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York,  December  11, 
1865;  installed  pastor  of  First  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York,  Feb- 
ruary 1,  1866;  appointed  Lecturer  in  Homiletics  and  Sacred  Ehetoric  in 
the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  1871,  and  served  in  this  office  until  1873; 
elected  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical,  Homiletical,  and  Pastoral  Theology 
in  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  spring,  1883,  and  served  until  spring, 
1902;  became  President  of  the  Faculty  at  Princeton  Theological  Seminary, 
February  10,  1900;  Professor  Emeritus  of  Homiletics  at  Princeton  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  from  spring,  1902;  died  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  Novem- 
ber 28,  1904. 

Member  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  from  1866  to  death,  and  its 
president  1881-1884;  member  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  from  1866 
to  1880,  and  its  president  1876-1878;  director  of  Western  Theological 
Seminary,  1852-1860;  director  of  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  1866- 
1883;  trustee  of  Union  Theological  Seminary,  1873-1884;  trustee  of  Jeffer- 
son College,  1853-1865;  trustee  of  Princeton  College  and  University,  1867- 
1904;  trustee  of  the  General  Assembly,  1892-1904;  ex  officio  member  of 
Board  of  Leake  and  Watts  Orphan  Asylum,  of  the  Sailors'  Snug  Harbor, 
and  of  the  Presbyterian  Hospital,  New  York,  1866-1883. 

Member  of  the  General  Assemblies  of  1860,  1862,  1880,  1881,  and  Mod- 
erator in  1880;  member  of  the  Council  of  the  Presbyterian  Alliance  in 
1877,  and  opened  the  Council  of  1880  with  a  sermon. 

Made  Doctor  of  Divinity  by  Jefferson  College  in  1860,  and  Doctor  of 
Laws  by  Washington  and  Jefferson  College  in  1883. 

III.  Dr.  Paxton's  Churches.— The  growth  in  the  churches  served  by 
Dr.  Paxton  will  appear  from  the  following  lists: 


■ 

Number  of 

Added  on 

Added  on 

communicants 

examination 

certificate 

1849 

208 

10 

2 

1850 

222 

11 

13 

First  Church,  Pittsburgh 

..1851 

237 

49 

17 

1852 

286 

36 

23 

1853 

314 

14 

25 

1854 

311 

19 

18 

1855 

320 

25 

24 

1856 

359 

25 

32 

1857 

381 

24 

21 

ls.-s 

391 

48 

19 

1859 

385 

26 

10 

1860 

392 

10 

15 

92 


NOTES 

Number  of 

Added  on 

Added 

communicants 

examination    c 

:ertific; 

First  Church,  Pittsburgh. 

.   1861 

405 

13 

23 

1862 

383 

7 

12 

1863 

417 

16 

36 

1864 

426 

13 

23 

1865 

446 

14 

22 

First  Church,  New  York. 

. . 1866 

207 

9 

14 

1867 

246 

21 

29 

1868 

264 

19 

12 

1869 

293 

21 

23 

1870 

300 

10 

9 

1871 

301 

13 

16 

1872 

322 

18 

19 

1873 

322 

19 

4 

1874 

334 

21 

7 

1875 

350 

28 

9 

1876 

356 

14 

10 

1877 

377 

23 

11 

1878 

372 

9 

2 

1879 

378 

5 

7 

1880 

398 

10 

5 

1881 

409 

4 

2 

1882 

410 

3 

o 

1883 

409 

3 

2 

During  the  three  pastorates  610  members  were  received  on  confession— 
at  Greencastle  21,  at  Pittsburgh  339,  and  at  New  York  250;  518  were  re- 
ceived on  certificate— at  Greencastle  15,  at  Pittsburgh  320,  and  at  New 
York  183.  Dr.  Paxton  's  first  act  both  at  Pittsburgh  and  at  New  York 
was  to  "purge  the  roll"  very  carefully.  The  result  was  to  lower  the 
apparent  membership  in  both  cases  very  markedly.  The  First  Church 
of  Pittsburgh  had  reported  in  1850,  the  last  year  of  Dr.  Herron's  pastorate, 
396  members;  in  1851,  the  first  year  of  Dr.  Paxton 's  pastorate,  it  re- 
ported only  237.  The  First  Church  of  New  York  had  reported  in  1864, 
the  last  year  of  Dr.  Phillips's  pastorate,  496  members,  and  in  1865,  the 
intermediate  year,  it  reported  494;  in  1866,  the  first  year  of  Dr.  Paxton 's 
pastorate,  it  reported  only  207. 

IV.  Dr.  Paxton 's  Publications.— The  following  list  contains  all  the 
publications  of  Dr.  Paxton  copies  of  which  have  been  found.  It  is  not 
to  be  supposed  that  it  includes  all  that  were  printed  (compare  below,  p.  116)  ; 
but  doubtless  it  includes  the  majority  of  them. 

1.  "Christian  Beneficence:  A  Discourse  delivered  before  the  Colpor- 
teur Convention,  held  at  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  October  27,  28,  29,  1857,  by 
Bev.  William  M.  Paxton,  Pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church. ' ' 

93 


NOTES 

(In  Colporteur  CoiiK  utioii  at  Pittsburgh,  Sermon,  Topics  Discussed,  Sketch 
of  Convention  and  Personal  Narratives.  New  York:  American  Tract  So- 
ciety, 1857.     8vo,  pp.  36.) 

2.  "The  Nation:  Its  Relation  and  Duties  to  God.  A  Sermon  Preached 
in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  on  Thanksgiving  Day, 
Nov.  24,  1859,  by  William  M.  Paxton,  Pastor.  Pittsburgh,  1859."  8vo, 
pp.  30. 

3.  ' '  Two  Discourses  upon  the  Life  and  Character  of  the  Rev.  Francis 
Herron,  D.D.,  by  the  Rev.  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D.,  Pastor  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  Pittsburgh.  Preached  and  Published  at  the  request 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  and  Session  of  the  Church.  Pittsburgh,  1861. ' ' 
8vo,  pp.  141.     (With  portrait  of  Dr.  Herron.) 

4.  "The  Nation's  Gratitude  and  Hope.  A  Sermon  Preached  in  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  Nov.  27,  1862. 
By  Rev.  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D.,  Pastor.     Pittsburgh,  1862. "     8vo,  pp.  38. 

5.  Address  at  the  Funeral  Services  of  Brigadier-General  Alexander  Hays, 
Saturday,  May  14,  1864,  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Pittsburgh. 

(In  The  Pittsburgh  Commercial  for  May  16,  1864.) 

6.  "A  Letter  to  the  Members  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Pitts- 
burgh, Pa."    Pittsburgh,  1864.     12mo,  pp.  5. 

(On  Parental  Responsibilities  and  Spiritual  Nurture  of  Children,  with 
the  importance  of  Sabbath  Schools;  signed  by  the  session  of  the  church.) 

7.  "In  Memoriam.  Address  delivered  at  the  Funeral  of  the  Hon. 
Walter  Lowrie,  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York,  Dec.  16, 
1868,  by  the  Rev.  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D.,  Pastor  of  the  First  Church. 
Published  by  request  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Board  of  For- 
eign Missions.  New  York  Mission  House,  23  Centre  Street,  1869. ' '  8vo, 
pp.  18.     (Pamphlet.) 

Reprinted  in  Memoirs  of  the  Hon.  Walter  Lowrie,  edited  by  his  Son. 
\'.'\v  York:   The  Baker  and  Taylor  Co.,  1896.     8vo,  pp.  173-189. 

8.  "Remarks  of  Rev.  Dr.  Paxton,"  at  the  "Funeral  Services  of  Rev. 
Gardiner  Spring,  D.D.,  at  the  Brick  (Presbyterian)  Church,  corner  of 
Fifth  Avenue  and  37th  Street.     August  22,  1873." 

(In  A  Discourse  Commemorating  the  Ministerial  Character  and  Services 
of  Gardiner  Spring,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  late  Senior  Pastor  of  the  Brick  Church. 
By  James  0.  Murray,  Pastor  of  the  Brick  Church.  With  an  Appendix  con- 
taining the  Addresses  made  at  the  Funeral,  August  22,  1873.  New  York. 
1873.     Small  quarto,  pp.  34-39.) 

9.  "  How  We  Spend  Our  Years.  By  William  M.  Paxton,  Pastor  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York.  New  York:  A.  D.  F.  Randolph 
and  Co."     [1875.1     3-m<>,  PP-  35- 

Reprinted  in  Princeton  Sermons.  New  York:  Fleming  H.  Revell  Co. 
[1893.]     pp.  298-315. 

10.  "Address  by  the  Rev.  W.  M.  Paxton,  D.D.,"  in  the  Third  Presby- 
terian Church,  Newark,  N.  J.,  [at  the  funeral  services  of  Melancthon  W. 
Jacobus,  D.D.,  LL.D.] 

94 


NOTES 

(Id  In  Memoriam.  Melancthon  W.  Jacobus,  D.D.,  LL.B.  Born  Septem- 
ber 19,  1816,  died  October  28,  1876.    pp.  43-51.) 

11.  "Home  Missions  in  America."  Address  in  Report  of  Proceedings 
of  the  First  General  Presbyterian  Council.    Edinburgh,  1877.    pp.  123-125. 

12.  "The  Charge  by  Eev.  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D.,  of  New  York  City: 
The  Ministry  for  the  Age." 

(In  Addresses  at  the  Inauguration  of  Rev.  Archibald  Alexander  Hodge, 
D.D.,  LL.B.,  as  Associate  Professor  of  Didactic  and  Polemic  Theology  in 
the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  November  8,  1877.  Phila- 
delphia, 1877.     pp.  5-16.) 

13.  "Address  by  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D.,  of  New  York,  at  the  Ob- 
sequies of  the  Kev.  Dr.  Hodge,  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Prince- 
ton, N.  J.,  June  22,  1878." 

(In  Discourses  Commemorative  of  the  Life  and  Work  of  Charles  Hodge, 
D.D.,  LL.D.  Published  by  order  of  the  Directors  and  Trustees  of  the 
Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  N.  J.     Philadelphia,  1879.     pp.  5-18.) 

14.  "Address  by  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D."  [On  Archibald  Alexander, 
D.D.,  at  the  unveiling  of  the  Alexander  tablet  erected  by  the  Alumni  in 
the  Chapel  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  on  the  29th 
of  April,  1879.] 

(In  The  Alexander  Memorial,  1879.    pp.  7-16.) 

15.  "Dr.  [C]  Hodge  as  a  Teacher  of  Didactic  Theology  and  as  a 
Preacher,  by  Dr.  William  M.  Paxton  of  New  York." 

(In  The  Life  of  Charles  Hodge,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  by  his  Son,  A.  A.  Hodge. 
New  York,  1880.     pp.  591-602.) 

16.  "The  Mission  of  the  Presbyterian  Church."  (Opening  Sermon  of 
the  Second  Council  of  the  Presbyterian  Alliance,  September  23,  1880.) 

(In  Report  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Second  General  Council  of  the 
Presbyterian  Alliance,  convened  at  Philadelphia,  September,  1880.  pp. 
25  seq.) 

Also:  "The  Mission  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  By  William  M.  Pax- 
ton, D.D.  Council  Paper,  No.  1.  Philadelphia:  Presbyterian  Board  of  Pub- 
lication, 1334  Chestnut  St."     1880.     16mo,  pp.  30.      (Pamphlet.) 

Also:  "The  Mission  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  A  sermon,  delivered 
at  the  opening  of  the  Second  Council  of  the  Presbyterian  Alliance,  at  Phil- 
adelphia, Sept.  23,  1880.  By  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D.,  Pastor  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York.     New  York. ' '     32mo,  pp.  36. 

17.  "The  Church:  Its  Strength  and  Its  Weakness.  By  the  Kev.  William 
M.  Paxton,  D.D.  A  Sermon  Preached  by  the  Moderator  at  the  Opening 
Session  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United 
States,  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  May  19,  1881.  Philadelphia:  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Publication,  1334  Chestnut  St."     32mo,  pp.  35.     [Tract  No.  207.] 

18.  Letter  to  George  Ticknor  Curtis,  on  Keligious  Conversation  with  Mr. 
Buchanan. 

(In  Life  of  James  Buchanan.  By  George  Ticknor  Curtis.  New  York, 
1883.     Vol.  II,  pp.  670-671.) 

95 


NOTES 

19.  "Dr.  Paxton 's  Sermon"  [at  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  Pittsburgh]. 

(In  Centennial  Volume  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Pittsburgh, 
Pa.,  1784-1884.     Pittsburgh,  1884.     pp.  119-128.) 

L'O.  "Dr.  Paxton 's  Address"  [at  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  Pittsburgh]. 

(In  Centennial  Volume,  etc.     Pittsburgh,  1884.     pp.  187-188.) 

21.  "Discourses  at  the  Inauguration  of  the  Rev.  William  M.  Paxton, 
D.D.,  LL.D.,  as  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical,  Homiletical  and  Pastoral 
Theology  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  May  13,  1884. 
Philadelphia,  1884."     8vo,  pp.  30.     (Dr.  Paxton 's  Discourse,  pp.  15-30.) 

Also  reprinted  in  The  Pulpit  Treasury  for  December,  1887,  Vol.  VIII, 
pp.  489-497. 

22.  "Charge  to  the  Pastor.    By  Rev.  W.  M.  Paxton,  D.D." 

(In  Installation  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Harlan,  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
New  York,  April  1,  1886.) 

23.  ' '  Address  delivered  at  the  Funeral  of  Archibald  Alexander  Hodge, 
D.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  N.  J., 
Nov.  15,  1886.  By  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D.  New  York:  Anson  D.  F. 
Randolph  and  Co. "     [1886.]     8vo,  pp.  22.      (Pamphlet.) 

A  second  edition  was  printed  in  January,  1887.     12mo,  pp.  27. 

24.  "The  Call  to  the  Ministry." 

(In  The  Presbyterian  Beview  for  January,  1889,  X,  37,  pp.  1-16.  Also 
circulated  in  separata.) 

25.  Review  of  "  Samuel  Irenseus  Prime:  Autobiography  and  Memorials. 
Edited  by  his  son,  Wendell  Prime.  New  York:  A.  D.  F.  Randolph  &  Co. 
1888." 

(In  The  Presbyterian  Review,  January,  1889,  X,  37,  pp.  165-166.) 

26.  Review  of  "  The  Presbytery  and  the  Log  College,  by  Rev.  Thomas 
Murphy,  D.D.     Philadelphia,  1889." 

(In  The  Presbyterian  and  Reformed  Review  for  1890,  I,  i,  pp.  145-146.) 

27.  "Dr.  Paxton 's  Address"  [on  the  Value  and  Blessedness  of  a  Pious 
Ancestry]. 

(In  Centennial  Exercises  of  Lower  Marsh  Creek  Presbyterian  Church. 
Adams  County,  Pennsylvania,  September  25,  1890.     8vo,  pp.  6-13.) 

28.  "Salvation  as  a  Work,  by  Professor  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D., 
LL.D."     (Sermon  on  Philippians  1:6.) 

(In  Princeton  Sermons  chiefly  by  the  Professors  in  Princeton  Theo- 
logical Seminary.    New  York,  1893.    pp.  75-93.) 

(This  sermon  had  also  previously  been  printed  in  pamphlet  form;  but 
no  copy  of  the  pamphlet  has  been  recovered.) 

29.  "Dr.  Green  as  the  Head  of  the  Faculty."     (After-Dinner  Speech.) 
(In   Celebration   of   the   Fiftieth   Anniversary   of   the   Appointment   of 

Professor  William  Henry  Green  as  an  Instructor  in  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary,  May  5,  1896.     New  York,  1896.    pp.  84-86.) 

96 


NOTES 

30.  "Obituary  Note  on  Anson  Davies  Fitz  Randolph." 

(In  The  Presbyterian  and  Reformed  Review  for  October,  1896,  VII,  28, 
pp.  694-696.) 

31.  " Homiletics.  Classifications  and  Divisions."  (Printed,  not  pub- 
lished.)    Pamphlet.    8vo.  pp.  40.     (About  1889.) 

Eeissue  in  better  form:  Pamphlet.     8vo,  pp.  49.     1904. 

V.  Dr.  Paxton  in  the  Presbytery  op  Carlisle.— The  Rev.  Ray  H. 
Carter,  pastor  of  the  Falling  Spring  Church,  Chambersburg,  having  exam- 
ined the  Minutes  of  the  Session  of  that  church,  writes  as  follows: 

"Dr.  Paxton  united,  on  confession  of  faith  and  examination,  with  the 
Falling  Spring  Church  at  Chambersburg,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev. 
Daniel  McKinley,  in  March,  1845.  The  day  of  the  month  is  not  given. 
At  that  time  he  was  living  at  Caledonia  Iron  Works,  near  Chambersburg. ' ' 

Mr.  Carter  has  also  kindly  made  the  following  extracts  from  the  Min- 
utes of  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle: 

"Newville,  April  9,  1845. 

"Mr.  William  Paxton,  a  member  of  the  church  in  Chambersburg,  and  a 
graduate  of  Pennsylvania  College,  Gettysburg,  was  introduced  to  Presby- 
tery as  a  candidate  for  the  gospel  ministry,  to  be  taken  under  its  care; 
and  was  examined  in  experimental  piety,  and  his  views  in  seeking  the 
gospel  ministry;  which  examinations  were  sustained  and  he  taken  under 
its  care." 

"Carlisle,  July  7,  1846. 

"Mr.  Paxton  read  a  critical  exercise  on  Galatians  4:  21-26,  by  previous 
appointment  of  Presbytery,  which  was  sustained." 

' '  Messrs.  Kennedy,  Paxton,  Agnew,  and  Graham  were  examined  in  He- 
brew, which  examinations  were  sustained.  The  following  assignments  were 
made  to  Mr.  Paxton  as  parts  of  trial:  Lecture,  Isaiah  35:  8,  9,  10;  Sermon, 
Philippians  2:  latter  clause  of  v.  12  and  v.  13." 

"  Shippensburg,  June  1,  1847. 

"Messrs.  Graham  and  Paxton  were  examined  on  Theology,  Ecclesiastical 
History,  Church  Government,  and  the  Sacraments,  all  of  which  were  sus- 
tained. ' ' 

At  this  meeting  ' '  the  committees  appointed  to  examine  the  pieces  assigned 
them  reported  as  follows,  viz. :  that  they  had  examined  Mr.  Paxton 's  Latin 
exegesis,  on  the  theme,  An  creationis  historia  (Genesis  1:  2)  literalis  sit? 
And  his  lecture,  on  Isaiah  35:  8-10.  The  committees  recommended  their 
approval.     Accepted  and  Adopted." 

' '  Mr.  Paxton 's  trial  sermon  was  then  heard ;  text,  Philippians  2 :  12,  13 : 
'  Work  out  your  own  salvation, '  etc.  Resolved  that  his  sermon  be  sus- 
tained as  part  of  trial.  Resolved  that  all  his  trials  be  sustained.  Resolved 
that  we  now  proceed  to  license  Mr.  Paxton. 

"At  Shippensburg,  the  first  day  of  June,  a.d.   1847,  the  Presbytery  of 

97 


NOTES 

Carlisle,  having  received  testimonials  in  favor  of  Mr.  William  M.  Paxton, 
of  his  having  gone  through  a  regular  course  of  literature,  of  his  good 
moral  character,  and  of  his  being  in  the  communion  of  the  church,  pro- 
ceeded to  take  the  usual  parts  of  trial  for  his  licensure;  and  he  having 
given  satisfaction  as  to  his  accomplishments  in  literature,  as  to  his  experi- 
mental acquaintance  with  religion,  and  as  to  his  proficiency  in  Divinity 
and  other  studies,  the  Presbytery  did,  and  hereby  do,  express  their  ap- 
probation of  all  these  parts  of  trial,  and  he  having  adopted  the  Confes- 
sion of  Faith  of  this  Church,  and  satisfactorily  answered  the  questions 
appointed  to  be  put  to  candidates  to  be  Licensed,  the  Presbytery  did,  and 
hereby  do,  license  the  said  William  M.  Paxton  to  preach  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  as  a  probationer  for  the  holy  ministry,  within  the  bounds  of 
this  Presbytery,  or  wherever  else  he  shall  be  orderly  called." 

"Petersburg,  April  11,  1848. 

"A  call  from  the  congregation  of  East  Conococheague,  commonly  known 
by  the  name  of  Greencastle,  for  the  pastoral  services  of  Mr.  William  M. 
Paxton,  promising  him  the  sum  of  six  hundred  dollars  in  regular  quarterly 
payments,  with  the  express  understanding  that  whatever  the  pews  will 
bring  over  that  sum  in  future  shall  be  given  to  him,  was  presented  to 
Presbytery;  which  was  read  and  found  to  be  in  order;  and  it  was  ordered 
that  the  said  call  be  retained  in  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery  until  Mr. 
Paxton  appears  before  them,  and  answers  whether  he  accepts  the  same 
or  no.  Eomans  8:  3  was  assigned  to  Mr.  Paxton  as  a  subject  for  a  trial 
sermon  for  ordination. ' ' 

"  Shippensburg,  June  IS,  1848. 

"The  call  from  the  congregation  of  Greencastle,  in  the  hands  of  the 
Presbytery,  was  put  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Paxton,  who  signified  his  ac- 
ceptance of  the  same.  Mr.  Paxton  preached  his  trial  sermon  from  Eomans 
S:  3." 

' '  The  sermon  of  Mr.  Paxton  was  considered  and  sustained.  Eesolved 
that  all  the  trials  of  Mr.  Paxton  be  sustained  and  the  way  be  considered 
clear  for  his  ordination,  and  that  the  Presbytery  proceed  at  the  next 
stated  meeting  to  his  ordination  and  installation.  Mr.  Harper  was  ap- 
pointed to  preach  the  ordination  sermon;  Mr.  McGinley  to  preside,  pro- 
pose the  constitutional  questions,  offer  the  ordaining  prayer,  and  give 
the  right  hand  of  fellowship;  Mr.  McKinley  to  give  the  charge  to  the 
pastor;   and  Mr.  Morris  the  charge  to  the  congregation." 

"Greencastle,  October  4,  1848. 
"At  ten  o'clock  Presbytery  proceeded  to  the  ordination  of  Mr.  William 
M.  Paxton  to  the  office  of  the  gospel  ministry,  and  installed  him  as  the 
Pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Greencastle.  In  this  service  Mr. 
Harper  preached  from  2  Corinthians  2:  15,  16.  Mr.  McGinley  presided 
and  proposed  the  constitutional  questions  to  the  candidate,  offered  the  or- 

98 


NOTES 

claiming  prayer,  and  gave  the  right  hand  of  fellowship.  Mr.  McKinley 
delivered  the  charge  to  the  pastor,  and  Mr.  Morris  the  charge  to  the  con- 
gregation. ' ' 

' '  On  the  roll  of  Presbytery  at  that  time, ' '  writes  Mr.  Carter  further, 
"I  find  these  names:  Eev.  James  Harper,  D.D.,  Shippensburg  Church;  Eev. 
Amos  A.  McGinley,  D.D.,  Upper  and  Lower  Path  Valley  Churches;  Eev. 
Daniel  McKinley,  D.D.,  Falling  Spring  Church,  Chambersburg,  Dr.  Paxton 's 
pastor  (Mrs.  James  Kennedy,  Dr.  McKinley 's  daughter  and  my  neighbor, 
says  that  it  was  largely  due  to  her  father's  influence  that  Dr.  Paxton  en- 
tered the  ministry)  ;  Eev.  George  Morris,  Silver  Spring  Church.  These 
must  be  the  gentlemen  intended  above. ' ' 

"Paxton  Church,  April  9,  1850. 

' '  Presbytery  elected  .  .  .  William  M.  Paxton  clerk. ' ' 

"April  10,  1850. 
' '  Presbytery  appointed  William  M.  Paxton  to  open  next  stated  meeting 
with  a  sermon. ' ' 

"Big  Spring,  October  1,  1850  (Newville,  Pennsylvania). 
1 '  Presbytery  .  .  .  was  opened  according  to  appointment  with  a   sermon 
by  the  Eev.  William  M.  Paxton  from  Luke  12:  16-21." 

"Chambersburg,  December  5,  1850. 
' '  Pursuant  to  a  call  addressed  by  the  moderator  to  the  members  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Carlisle,  citing  them  to  attend  a  meeting  of  that  body, 
to  be  held  in  Chambersburg,  Thursday,  December  5,  to  take  into  con- 
sideration a  call  for  the  ministerial  services  of  the  Eev.  William  M.  Pax- 
ton from  the  First  Church  in  the  city  of  Pittsburgh,  and,  if  the  way  be 
clear,  for  dissolving  the  pastoral  relation  now  subsisting  between  him  and 
the  church  of  Greencastle,  and  for  dismissing  him  to  connect  with  the 
Presbytery  of  Ohio,  the  Presbytery  .  .  .  convened  and  was  constituted  with 
prayer  by  the  Eev.  William  M.  Paxton. ' ' 

' '  Mr.  Paxton  resigned  his  office  of  temporary  clerk. ' ' 
' '  The  commissioners  from  the  First  Church  of  Pittsburgh  appeared 
before  Presbytery  and  made  a  statement  of  the  action  of  that  church 
in  reference  to  the  Eev.  William  M.  Paxton,  and  presented  the  following 
papers:  first,  a  call  from  the  First  Church  of  Pittsburgh  for  the  minis- 
terial services  of  the  Eev.  William  M.  Paxton,  in  which  they  obligate  them- 
selves to  pay  him  the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  in  regular  half- 
yearly  payments,  during  the  time  of  his  being  and  continuing  the  regular 
pastor  of  that  church;  second,  an  account  of  the  proceedings  of  a  meet- 
ing of  that  church  appointing  commissioners  to  prosecute  the  call;  third, 
a  certificate  from  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio,  signed  by  its  moderator  and 
clerk,  that  the  call  was  laid  before  them,  that  it  was  in  order,  and  that 
the  congregation  of  the  First  Church  of  Pittsburgh  have  liberty  to  prose- 
cute their  call  before  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle. 

99 


NOTES 

' '  The  commissioners  from  the  church  of  Greencastle  read  a  letter  from 
the  Rev.  William  M.  Paxton  to  the  session  of  that  church,  asking  the 
church  to  unite  with  him  in  petitioning  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle  to 
dissolve  the  pastoral  relation  between  them,  and  presented  a  paper  con- 
taining a  record  of  the  proceedings  of  a  meeting  of  the  congregation  in 
reference  to  that  subject. 

"Mr.  Paxton  then  made  a  statement  of  his  views  respecting  the  dis- 
solution of  the  pastoral  relation,  and  was  followed  by  the  commissioners, 
who   made   some   remarks   expressive   of  the   feelings   of   the  congregation. 

"The  call  was  put  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Paxton,  who  signified  his 
acceptance  of  it;  whereupon  Presbytery  dissolved  the  pastoral  relation. 

"Mr.  Paxton  at  his  own  request  dismissed  from  the  Presbytery  to  unite 
with  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio,  and  the  clerk  directed  to  furnish  the  usual 
testimonials." 

The  following  extracts  from  the  sessional  records  of  the  church  at 
Greencastle  have  been  kindly  furnished  by  the  Eev.  L.  Carman  Bell,  pas- 
tor of  that  church: 

' '  1848,  February  14th.  Agreeably  to  a  previous  notice  a  Congregational 
Meeting  was  held  this  day  in  the  church,  at  which  a  unanimous  call  was 
moderated  to  the  Rev.  William  M.  Paxton.  Rev.  John  R.  Agnew  presided 
as  Moderator. ' ' 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle  held  in  Greencastle  on  the 
fourth  day  of  October,  a.d.  1848,  the  Rev.  William  M.  Paxton,  a  licen- 
tiate thereof,  was  ordained  and  installed  pastor  of  the  East  Conococheague, 
alias  the  Presbyterian  Congregation  in  Greencastle. ' ' 

' '  The  Rev.  William  M.  Paxton,  having  received  and  accepted  a  call 
from  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Pittsburgh,  was,  at  a  pro  re  nata 
meeting  of  the  Carlisle  Presbytery  held  at  Chambersburg  for  that  purpose 
on  the  fifth  day  of  December,  a.d.  1850,  released  from  his  relation  as 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Greencastle,  and  the  said  church  was  declared 
vacant. ' ' 

VI.  Dr.  Paxton  at  Pittsburgh. — 1.  The  following  extracts  from  the 
Minutes  of  the  Session  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  at  Pittsburgh 
have  been  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  William  Craig  Lilley,  Clerk  of  the 
Session : 

"First  Presbyterian  Church,  Pittsburgh,  July  29,  1850. 

"A  communication  was  received  from  a  number  of  persons,  which  was 
read  and  is  as  follows,  viz. : 

'Pittsburgh,  July  27th,  1850.— Having  heard  of  the  talents  and  piety 
of  the  Rev.  William  M.  Paxton,  of  Greencastle,  Franklin  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, from  various  sources,  and  being  desirous  of  hearing  him,  we  respect- 
fully request  the  Session  to  invite  him  to  visit  us  at  as  early  a  period  as 

100 


NOTES 

convenient.     Signed  by  the  following  persons:   William  E.   Murphy,  John 
D.  McCord,  Eobert  Dalzell,  Samuel  Eea,  James  Dalzell,  and  Eobert  Beer.' 

Therefore  resolved  that  we  authorize  and  appoint  our  old  Pastor  to 
open  a  correspondence  with  the  Eev.  William  M.  Paxton,  of  Greencastle, 
of  whom  we  have  heard  a  favorable  account  from  different  quarters,  and 
request  him  to  visit  us,  and  preach  for  us  as  a  candidate  for  the  pastorate. 

Agreeably  to  the  second  resolution  and  this  arrangement  of  the  Session, 
Dr.  Herron  opened  a  correspondence  with  the  Eev.  William  M.  Paxton, 
and  after  an  interchange  of  several  letters,  and  urgency,  on  the  part  of 
Dr.  Herron,  Mr.  Paxton  was  induced  to  visit  us,  still,  however,  protesting 
against  being  viewed  as  a  candidate,  and  after  spending  and  preaching 
for  us  one  Sabbath,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  congregation,  immediate 
measures  were  taken  to  prepare  a  call  for  him  as  their  future  Pastor. 

In  pursuance  of  the  foregoing  action  the  following  measures  were  taken, 
viz.: 

"Pittsburgh,  November  4,  1850. 

"Pursuant  to  public  notice  by  the  Session,  read  from  the  Pulpit  last 
Sabbath  morning  and  evening  after  Sermons,  the  congregation  convened 
at  three  o'clock  p.m.  this  day. 

The  Eev.  Dr.  Herron  was  invited  by  the  Session  to  act  as  Moderator, 
and  L.  E.  Johnston  was  chosen  Secretary.  After  prayer  by  the  Moderator, 
the  object  of  the  meeting  was  stated  by  him  to  be  for  the  purpose  of 
electing  a  Pastor  for  this  church,  and  having  put  the  question  to  the 
congregation  as  to  their  willingness  to  proceed,  it  was  carried  without  a 
dissenting  voice. 

On  motion  of  John  D.  McCord,  seconded  by  Samuel  Bailey,  the  Eev. 
William  M.  Paxton,  of  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle,  was  put  in  nomination, 
and  was  duly  elected  by  a  unanimous  vote. 

On  motion  of  Jesse  Carothers,  the  Trustees  were  instructed  to  pay  to 
the  Eev.  William  M.  Paxton  the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  per  annum 
as  his  salary,  which  was  unanimously  adopted. 

On  motion  of  William  Eobinson,  Jr.,  the  Session,  the  Trustees,  and 
five  other  members  of  the  congregation  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
prepare,  sign,  and  prosecute  the  call. 

On  motion  of  J.  D.  McCord,  Messrs.  N.  B.  Craig,  William  Eobinson,  Jr., 
P.  McCormick,  Jesse  Carothers,  and  William  McCandless  were  appointed 
from  the  congregation  to  act  with  the  Session  and  Trustees.  On  motion, 
adjourned  with  prayer  by  Eev.  Dr.  Elliott. 

L.  E.  Johnston, 
Secretary. ' ' 

"Pittsburgh,  November  29,  1850. 
"Presbytery  met  in  accordance  with  a  call  from  the  Moderator.     A  call 
from   the  First   Presbyterian   Church,   Pittsburgh,    for   the   pastoral   labor 
of  the  Eev.  William  M.  Paxton,   of  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle,  was  read 

101 


NOTES 

and  found  in  order.     On  motion  they  obtained  leave  to  prosecute  their  call 
before  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle. 

In  pursuance  of  the  above-mentioned  action  of  the  congregation  and 
grant  of  the  Presbytery,  the  aforesaid  call  was  duly  prosecuted  before 
the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle  during  its  Session  at  Chambersburg  on  the  fifth 
day  of  December,  1850,  by  Francis  G.  Bailey  and  John  D.  McCord  as 
Commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  congregation. 

Rev.  William  M.  Paxton  having  signified  his  acceptance  of  the  call,  the 
Presbytery  dissolved  the  pastoral  relation  subsisting  between  him  and 
the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Greencastle,  and  dismissed  him  to  connect  with 
the  Presbytery  of  Ohio. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio  held  at  Canonsburg  the  fourteenth 
day  of  January,  1851,  Mr.  Paxton  was  duly  received  upon  certificate  of 
dismission  from  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle,  and  a  committee  of  the  Pres- 
bytery was  appointed  to  install  him  as  Pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Pittsburgh  on  the  twenty-eighth  day  of  same  month.  Pur- 
suant to  this  action  Mr.  Paxton  was  duly  installed  on  the  aforesaid  day. 
Mr.  Allison  preached  the  Sermon,  and  Dr.  Herron  delivered  the  charges 
to  the  Pastor  and  people. 

F.  G.  Bailey. 
Secretary." 

2.  The  following  extracts  from  the  Minutes  of  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio 
have  been  kindly  furnished  by  the  Eev.  Dr.  Charles  S.  McClelland,  Stated 
Clerk  of  the  Presbytery  of  Pittsburgh,  the  legal  successor  to  the  Presbytery 
of  Ohio: 

"Presbytery  of  Ohio,  pro  re  nata  meeting. 

"The  First  Church,  Pittsburgh,  November  29,  1850.  A  call  from  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Pittsburgh,  for  the  pastoral  labors  of  the 
Eev.  "William  M.  Paxton  of  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle,  was  read  and  found 
in  order.  On  motion  they  obtained  leave  to  prosecute  their  call  before 
the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle. ' ' 

"Canonsburg,  Pennsylvania,  January  14,  15,  1851. 
Second  day,  January  15. 
"A  letter  of  dismission  from  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle  to  connect  himself 
with  this  Presbytery  was  presented  by  the  Eev.  William  M.  Paxton.  Pres- 
bytery then  examined  Mr.  Paxton  on  experimental  religion,  Didactic  and 
Polemic  Theology,  Church  Government,  and  the  Sacraments.  These  ex- 
aminations were  sustained,  and  Mr.  Paxton  received  as  a  member  of  this 
Presbytery  and  entered  on  the  roll.  Mr.  Paxton  declared  his  acceptance 
of  the  call  from  the  First  Church  of  Pittsburgh,  which  had  been  presented 
at  a  previous  meeting.  The  following  arrangements  were  made  for  the 
installation  of  Mr.  Paxton:  Dr.  Herron  to  preside,  Mr.  Allison  to  preach 
the  sermon,  Mr.  Wilson  to  give  the  charge  to  the  Pastor,  and   Mr.   Max- 

102 


NOTES 

shall  to  give  the  charge  to   the  people,  the  installation  to   take  place  on 
Friday  two  weeks,  at  six  and  a  half  o  'clock,  p.m.  ' ' 

The  roll  of  this  meeting  shows  Mr.  Allison  to  be  Jas.  Allison,  Mr.  Wilson 
to  be  J.  B.  Wilson,  Mr.  Marshall  to  be  George  Marshall. 

' '  Presbytery  of  Ohio,  Lecture  Boom  of  the  First  Church, 
Pittsburgh,  June  28,  1865. 

' '  Met  at  call  of  the  Moderator. 

The  Kev.  William  M.  Paxton  asked  leave  to  resign  the  pastoral  charge 
of  the  First  Church,  Pittsburgh,  on  account  of  his  own  impaired  health, 
and  the  severe  illness  of  his  child  requiring  a  change  of  residence.  The 
commissioners  of  the  congregation  were  heard,  declaring  the  acquiescence 
of  the  congregation,  from  what  they  considered  a  necessity,  after  which 
on  motion: 

Eesolved,  That  the  request  of  Dr.  Paxton  be  granted  and  that  Dr.  Mc- 
Kinney  be  appointed  to  preach  in  the  First  Church  on  the  next  Sabbath 
and  declare  the  pulpit  vacant." 

' '  December  26,  1865. 
' '  Presbytery  met  at  Temperanceville. 

The  Eev.  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D.,  was,  at  his  own  request,  dismissed 
to  join  the  Presbytery  of  New  York. ' ' 

Attested:  Charles  S.  McClelland,  Stated  Clerk  of  the  Presbytery  of  Pitts- 
burgh, legal  successor  of  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio. 

3.  Copy  of  Preamble  and  Eesolutions  adopted  at  a  meeting  of  the  Con- 
gregation of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Pittsburgh  held  January 
19,  1865: 

' '  Whereas  our  Pastor,  Eev.  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D.,  has  felt  himself 
constrained  in  the  Providence  of  God  to  seek  a  dissolution  of  the  relation 
so  long  and  so  happily  existing  between  him  and  this  congregation; 

And  whereas  the  grounds  upon  which  he  bases  his  application — the  ne- 
cessity of  a  change  of  climate  for  the  health  and  it  may  be  the  life  of 
a  dear  son,  and  also  his  own  impaired  health — constrain  us  to  acquiesce 
in  his  determination;   therefore: 

Eesolved,  first,  That  we  take  this  opportunity  to  place  on  record  our 
testimony  to  the  fideUty,  zeal,  and  success  with  which  our  beloved  Pastor 
has  employed  the  high  and  peculiar  talents  given  him  for  the  good  of  the 
church  and  the  glory  of  God. 

The  prosperity  of  the  congregation  in  things  spiritual  and  temporal;  the 
harmony  and  brotherly  love,  unbroken  during  his  ministry  of  nearly  fifteen 
years;  the  good  report,  also,  which  he  enjoys  with  those  that  are  without; 
and  the  influence  of  this  church  upon  the  community,  testify  as  to  how 
wisely  and  prudently  he  has  walked  before  us,  as  an  under-shepherd  in 
the  name  of  the  great  Shepherd  of  Israel. 

103 


NOTES 

Resolved,  second,  That  with  tender  affection,  remembering  bow  he  lias 
sympathized  with  us  in  our  sorrows  and  has  led  us  to  the  throne  of  grace 
for  our  consolation,  we  deeply  sympathize  with  him  also  in  this  his  day 
of  trial ;  and  assure  him  of  a  constant  interest  in  our  prayers,  that  our 
God  and  Saviour  may  keep  him,  and  his  family,  holding  them  precious  in 
His  sight  and  crowning  them  with  the  richest  blessings  of  His  grace. 

Eesolved,  third,  That  wherever  he  may  go,  our  Pastor  will  still  be  dear 
to  us,  a  treasured  memory  of  this  church,  with  his  sainted  predecessor  the 
beloved  Dr.  Herron ;  his  joys  shall  be  our  joys,  his  griefs  our  griefs,  and 
when  with  renewed  health  he  shall  again  be  enabled  to  enter  upon  his  much 
loved  labors,  that  success  which  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  shall  bestow  upon 
him  will  be  our  rejoicing  also. 

Eesolved,  fourth,  That  while  our  hearts  are  heavy  with  sadness  at  the 
thought  that  this  solemn  and  tender  relation  must  be  broken,  a  relation 
which  we  had  fondly  hoped  would  continue  until  the  voice  of  the  Master 
called  him  from  all  earthly  labor  to  his  eternal  rest,  yet  we  are  constrained 
to  be  directed  by  the  Providence  of  God  in  this  matter  and  to  acquiesce  in 
his  request,  if  the  necessity  still  exists  that  will  compel  him  in  duty 
to  press  his  application. 

Resolved,  fifth,  That  to  represent  this  congregation  at  the  next  meeting 
of  the  Ohio  Presbytery  we  do  hereby  appoint  two  commissioners  to  said 
meeting.  (Signed)  Jno.  A.  Renshaw, 

Secretary. ' ' 

VII.  Dr.  Paxton  at  the  Western  Theological  Seminary.— The  fol- 
lowing is  from  the  Eev.  Dr.  E.  P.  Cowan,  Clerk  of  the  Board  of  Directors 
of  the  Western  Theological  Seminary: 

"...  The  General  Assembly  in  1860  elected  Dr.  Paxton  to  the  Chair 
of  Sacred  Rhetoric. 

In  1861  the  Western  Theological  Seminary  reported  to  the  General  As- 
sembly 'the  acceptance  of  the  Professorship  by  Rev.  William  M.  Paxton, 
D.D.,  to  which  he  was  elected  by  the  last  General  Assembly;  that  he  en- 
tered on  the  duties  of  his  Chair  early  in  the  term  and  was  regularly  in- 
augurated at  the  late  meeting  of  the  Board.' 

In  accordance  with  the  action  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1864,  the  pro- 
fessorship held  by  Dr.  Paxton  was  changed  from  'Sacred  Rhetoric'  to 
'  Homiletical  Theology. ' 

Dr.  Paxton 's  Chair  after  this  is  reported  annually  as  that  of  'Homilet- 
ical Theology. ' 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  April  16,  1872,  the  following 
entry  was  made  on  the  Minute  Book  of  the  Board: 

'A  letter  was  read  from  Rev.  W.  M.  Paxton,  D.D.,  resigning  his  place 
as  Professor  of  Sacred  Rhetoric.  The  resignation  was  accepted  and  or- 
dered to  be  reported  to  the  Assembly;  and  it  was, 

104 


NOTES 

'Resolved,  That  whilst  the  Board  feels  constrained  to  comply  with  the 
wishes  of  Dr.  Paxton,  it  accepts  his  resignation  with  regret  and  reluctance. 
It  desires  to  express  its  high  appreciation  of  Dr.  Paxton  as  an  able  and 
faithful  Professor  of  Homiletieal  Theology,  and  to  return  thanks  for  his 
valuable  labors,  which  were  wholly  gratuitous. ' 

You  will  note  that  Dr.  James  Allison,  who  was  then  Secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Directors,  refers  to  Dr.  Paxton 's  Chair  in  one  place  as  that  of 
'  Sacred  Rhetoric, '  but  in  the  wording  of  the  resolution  that  immediately 
follows  he  is  referred  to  as  '  Professor  of  Homiletieal  Theology. '  ' ' 

VIII.    Dr.  Paxton  at  the  First  Church,  New  York.— The  following 
letters  explain  themselves: 

"New  York,  57  West  17th  Street, 
January  25,  1905. 

"...  Our  Minutes  show  that  Dr.  Paxton  was  elected  to  the  Pastorate  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  at  a  meeting  of  the  Pewholders  and  Congre- 
gation, held  on  Monday,  December  11,  1865,  Eev.  John  C.  Lowrie,  D.D., 
presiding.  The  nomination  was  made  by  recommendation  of  Session; 
there  was  no  other  name  presented,  and  the  election  was  unanimous.  Salary 
fixed  at  $5000.  Mr.  A.  B.  Belknap  was  appointed  Commissioner  to  prosecute 
the  call,  and  at  a  meeting  of  Presbytery,  January  22,  1866,  it  was  placed 
in  Dr.  Paxton 's  hands  and  accepted  by  him,  Presbytery  assenting. 

The  installation  was  on  Thursday  evening,  February  1,  1866.  Sermon 
by  Rev.  A.  M.  Kellogg,  from  1  Corinthians  2:2;  charge  to  pastor  by  Rev. 
John  C.  Lowrie,  D.D.;  charge  to  people  by  Rev.  James  O.  Murray,  of  the 
Brick  Church. 

On  June  7,  1883,  Dr.  Paxton  addressed  a  letter  to  Session  and  Congrega- 
tion, expressing  his  desire  to  accept  a  professorship  at  Princeton.  At  a 
meeting  of  the  church  on  June  19,  assent  was  given,  with  much  regret, 
to  the  severance  of  the  pastoral  relation,  and  three  commissioners  were 
appointed  to  report  the  same  to  Presbytery  at  its  meeting  of  July  9,  1883, 
when  the  change  was  consummated.  .  .  . 

I  find  that,  at  the  first  meeting  of  Session  at  which  Dr.  Paxton  pre- 
sided, a  committee  was  appointed  to  revise  the  church  roll.  On  June  8, 
1866,  this  Committee  reported  as  follows: 

' '  That  the  total  Church  Membership  returned  to  Presbytery  in  the  an- 
nual report  of  Session  of  April  17,  1865,  was  494,  to  which  were  added 
during  the  year  ending  April  17,  1866,  23,  making  the  whole  number  at 
this  later  date  517.  The  deductions  for  deaths  and  dismissals  are  as 
follows:  Prior  to  April  17,  1865,  extending  through  several  years  and  not 
before  deducted,  85;  since  that  date  and  to  April  17,  1866,  24— in  all,  109, 
and  reducing  the  nominal  Church  Membership  to  408. 

' '  Of  this  number,  your  Committee,  as  authorized  by  the  General  As- 
sembly (Minutes  of  1865,  page  591),  in  part  from  personal  knowledge  and 
partly   from   information   derived    from   other   sources,   with   as   much   ac- 

105 


NOTES 

curacy  as  within  their  power,  have  marked  'Absent'  201  members  'who  have 
been  absent  two  years  and  whose  place  of  business  and  Christian  life  are 
unknown'  to  Session,  leaving  as  constituting  the  present  membership  ac- 
tually attending  church  ordinances,  at  this  date,  207."  .  .  . 

Very  truly  yours, 
Charles  H.  Olmstead, 
Clerk  of  Session, 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York." 

"January  14,  1905. 
"Alexander's  History  errs  in  giving  date  of  installation  of  Dr.  Paxton 
over  First  Church  as  March  20,  1866.  Presbytery  met  and  installed  him 
February  1,  1866.  'After  prayer  by  the  Moderator,  Mr.  Kellogg  delivered 
the  sermon,  Dr.  Lowrie  gave  the  charge  to  the  pastor,  and  Mr.  Murray 
gave  the  charge  to  the  people.' 

Yours  truly, 

F.  E.  Shearek, 
Stated  Clerk  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  York. 

"At  the  Lecture  Boom  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church. 
New  York,  May  21,  1883. 

' '  Having  heard  that  the  Trustees  of  the  Theological  Seminary,  in  Prince- 
ton, have  recently  elected  our  pastor,  Eev.  Dr.  William  M.  Paxton,  to  a 
professorship  in  said  Seminary,  acceptance  of  which  would  involve  his 
resignation  as  our  minister,  the  members  of  his  congregation  have  here 
assembled  to  take  counsel  as  to  the  best  interests  of  the  church. 

After  united  prayer  for  divine  guidance,  and  after  full  deliberation, 
we  request  the  officers  of  this  meeting  to  report  the  result  to  our  pastor 
as  follows:  It  is  with  great  pain  we  even  consider  the  subject  of  a  sep- 
aration from  him.  It  has  startled  us  to  hear  it  announced  as  possible.  We 
assure  him  of  our  warm  personal  affection  for  him,  as  well  as  for  his  t'am 
ily.  His  ministry,  from  its  beginning,  has  continued  to  be  acceptable  to 
us.  We  have  recognized  his  fidelity  as  a  pastor  and  as  a  preacher  of  the 
Word  of  the  living  God,  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  Christ,  at  all  times. 
He  has  maintained  fully  the  standard  of  Presbyterian  faith,  to  the  fellow- 
ship of  which  wo  are  devoted.  In  his  administration  of  all  the  affairs  of 
the  church,  Ms  action  has  been  wise  ami  kind,  so  that  peace  and  order 
obtain  among  our  people.  In  all  respects  the  relation,  as  it  exists,  be- 
tween pastor  and  people,  is,  and  it  has  been,  a  happy  one.  without  a  break. 

We  also  respectfully  submit  to  our  pastor  that  it  has  been  a  part  of  the 
established  order  of  this  church,  during  its  existence  of  more  than  a  century 
and  a  half,  to  maintain,  if  practicable,  lifelong  relations  with  its  pastor. 
To  this  fact,  under  God's  blessing,  we  have  been  accustomed  to  attribute, 
in  a  great  degree,  its  steadfastness  in  doctrine  ami  in  the  faith.  It  is 
well  worth  consideration   whether  this  wholesome  tradition  should  be  sur- 

106 


NOTES 

rendered.  The  solemn  fixedness  of  a  single  church,  for  the  truth  as  it  was 
delivered  to  the  saints,  is  a  strengthening  of  the  entire  church,  in  these 
days  of  variableness  and  turning. 

There  is  nothing,  then,  in  the  matter  of  personal  feeling,  which  does 
not  present  inducements  to  our  pastor  to  remain  with  us.  His  ministry- 
has  been  edifying  to  the  church  and  eminently  blessed  to  the  saving  of 
souls. 

We  beg  him  to  consider  this  memorial  from  his  affectionate  congrega- 
tion, and  to  let  it  weigh  with  him  in  his  decision,  whether  he  shall  with- 
draw from  his  pastoral  work,  as  an  expression  of  our  earnest  desire  that 

he  will  remain  with  us. 

Hezekiah  King, 

Chairman  of  the  meeting. 

Eobert  Fergus  son, 

Secretary. ' ' 

"Lecture  Boom  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
New  York,  June  19,  1883. 
' '  Eev.  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D. 

Dear  Sir: 

Having  assembled  to  discharge  certain  duties  in  relation  to  Presbytery 
incident  to  your  resignation  as  Minister  over  this  church,  we  find  ourselves, 
as  a  congregation,  turning  our  thoughts  constantly  to  you.  The  occasion 
reminds  us  of  the  pleasant  communion  which  for  seventeen  years  has 
characterized  the  relations  between  this  people  and  their  pastor.  When 
you  entered  our  pulpit  you  had  quite  recently  laid  aside  congenial  labors 
in  the  Seminary  at  Allegheny  City.  You  were  welcomed  to  this  pastorate 
by  the  Session  and  by  the  body  of  the  Church  without  a  dissenting  voice. 
We  look  around  to-night  for  some  one  of  the  Elders  who  gathered  about 
you  on  your  installation  here,  only  to  be  reminded  that  they  have  all  de- 
parted out  of  this  world  and  have  come  to  the  everlasting  feast  in 
heaven.  Perhaps,  too,  a  majority  of  the  enrolled  members  of  our  church, 
as  they  were  on  your  arrival,  are  no  longer  living.  They  have  fallen  asleep, 
full  of  faith  and  in  hope  of  a  glorious  resurrection. 

But  the  Church  of  Christ  dies  not.  The  candlestick  has  not  been  removed 
out  of  its  place.  The  lifting  up  of  hands  has  been  accepted  as  incense 
in  this  temple.  The  ordinances  proper  to  God's  house  have  been  con- 
tinually observed,  and  your  ministry  has  been  abundantly  owned  and 
blessed  of  your  and  our  Master.  Such  steady  accessions  to  the  church 
membership  have  been  made  that  the  roll  of  active  members  in  our  church 
is  now  more  than  fifty  per  cent,  larger  than  it  was  when  you  entered  the 
field.  And  this  in  the  face  of  the  removal  to  other  neighborhoods  of  very 
many  of  our  church  families.  We  all  feel  that  you  have  been  a  faithful 
and  earnest  preacher  to  us,  seeking  to  bring  the  people  to  the  very  Saviour 's 
feet. 

107 


NOTES 

We  are  grateful  to  you,  giving  thanks  to  God  the  Father  and  to  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  the  work  of  this  ministry. 

Be  pleased,  our  Pastor,  to  accept  expressions  of  heartfelt  love  from  us 
all,  parents  and  children.  We  permit  you  to  leave  us  only  because  you  feel 
the  call  of  duty  for  another  field,  and  it  is  only  in  compliance  with  your 
express  desire  that  we  yield  to  this  necessity. 

The  benediction  which,  Sabbath  after  Sabbath,  these  many  years,  you 
pronounced  upon  us,  from  the  pulpit,  we  now  invoke  in  precious  abun- 
dance upon  you,  as  becomes 

Your  grateful  and  loving  Flock." 

IX.  Dr.  Paxton  and  Union  Theological  Seminary.— The  following 
extracts  from  the  records  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  Union  Theological 
Seminary  have  been  kindly  furnished  by  the  Kev.  Dr.  Marvin  E.  Vincent: 

"May  5,  1873. 
"Resolved  that,  in  addition  to  the  compensation  already  voted,  the  grate- 
ful thanks  of  this  Board  be  presented  to  the  Reverend  William  M.  Paxton, 
D.D.,  for  the  highly  satisfactory  manner  in  which  he  has  provisionally  per- 
formed the  work  of  instruction  in  Homiletics  and  Sacred  Rhetoric. ' ' 

' '  October  20,  1873. 
"The  Reverend  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D.,  was  put  in  nomination  to  fill 
the  next  ministerial  vacancy  in  the  Board." 

' '  November  12,  1873. 
"The  Board  proceeded  to  the  annual  election,  and  the  Reverend  William 
M.  Paxton,  D.D.,  was  elected  in  place  of  the  Reverend  Herrick  Johnson, 
D.D.  (resigned),  of  the  second  class  of  Directors." 

"November  17,  1873. 
"The  Reverend  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D.,  elected  at  the  last  meeting, 
appeared,  and  was  duly  qualified  as  a  Director." 

X.  Dr.  Paxton 's  Resignation  from  Princeton  Theological  Seminary. 
—The  following  papers  will  explain  themselves: 

Paper  Adopted  by  the  Faculty  of  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary,  May  1,  1902. 
"The  Committee  appointed  by  the  Faculty  on  April  5,  1902,  to  recom- 
mend what  action  should  be  taken  in  view  of  the  just  expressed  in- 
tention of  our  senior  professor,  Dr.  William  M.  Paxton,  to  resign  his  pro- 
fessorship at  the  approaching  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  would 
report  as  follows: 

1.  In  view  of  the  length,  diversity,  and  efficiency  of  Dr.  Paxton 's  services 
to  our  Seminary;  in  view  of  the  honor  in  which  he  is  held  throughout  the 

108 


NOTES 

whole  church,  and  of  the  consequent  loss  in  reputation  that  we  should  in- 
cur were  he  no  longer  to  be  associated  with  us;  and  especially  in  view  of 
the  degree  to  which  he  has  endeared  himself  to  us  all,  we  recommend  that 
the  Faculty,  while  feeling  that  it  would  be  improper  to  question  the  wisdom 
of  a  decision  so  deliberate,  should  deprecate  any  resignation  contemplating 
his  entire  separation  from  the  Seminary. 

2.  We  recommend  that  the  Faculty  request  the  Board  of  Directors  to 
appoint  Dr.  Paxton  Professor  Emeritus  of  Practical  Theology;  to  keep 
his  name  in  the  Catalogue  and  at  the  head  of  the  list  of  the  Faculty;  to 
ask  him  to  give  such  instruction,  whether  in  the  curriculum  or  in  extra- 
curriculum  courses,  as  the  Faculty,  in  conference  with  the  professors  in 
this  department,  shall  from  time  to  time  arrange;  and,  in  partial  recog- 
nition of  the  great  services  which  he  has  rendered  and  will  yet  render 
to  this  institution,  to  request  him  to  continue  to  occupy,  and  for  life,  the 
house  which  was  built  especially  for  him  by  a  friend  of  his  and  of  the 
Seminary. 

3.  We  recommend  that  the  Faculty  express  to  Dr.  Paxton  our  earnest 
hope  that  he  will  make  every  effort  to  continue  to  us  and  to  our  students 
the  priceless  benefit  of  his  example,  his  experience,  and  his  sympathy; 
and,  in  particular,  that  we  invite  and  individually  urge  him  always  to  give 
us  the  blessing  of  his  presence  and  the  wisdom  of  his  counsel  at  our  Faculty 
meetings,  both  formal  and  informal. 

4.  We  recommend  that  as  a  Faculty  we  do  hereby  congratulate  Dr. 
Paxton  on  the  long  and  splendid  service  which  he  has  been  privileged  to 
render  to  the  church  and  especially  to  this  Seminary,  and  that  we  express 
the  hope  that  he  will  be  spared  for  many  years  to  illustrate  the  inspired 
words,  "The  path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shining  light,  that  shineth  more 
and  more  unto  the  perfect  day. ' ' 

Eespectfully  submitted, 

B.  B.  Warfield, 
John  D.  Davis, 
W.  Brenton  Greene,  Jr. 
Princeton,  N.  J.,  May  1,  1902." 

Extract  from  the  Minutes  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary,  May  5,  1902. 

"A  communication  was  read  from  the  Eev.  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D.,  as 
follows : 

'To  the  Board  of  Directors  of  Princeton  Theological  Seminary. 

'  Dear  Brethren  : 
■  Under   the   constraints   of   advancing   age,    and   the   advice   of   my   phy- 
sicians,   I   am   compelled — much   against   my   own   wishes — to    send   to    the 
Board   my   resignation   of   the   Professorship   which   through   the   kindness 
of  my  brethren  I  have  held  for  nearly  twenty  years. 

109 


NOTES 

I  need  not  tell  you  of  the  sorrow  which  I  feel  in  sundering  the  ties 
which  bind  me  to  an  Institution  which  has  been  the  joy  of  my  heart, 
and  in  parting  from  many  brethren  whom  1  sincerely  love.  I  am,  however, 
deeply  convinced  that  this  step  has  become  a  duty  which  I  owe  to  myself 
and  to  my  family;  and  I  bow  to  a  necessity  which  seems  to  be  an  in- 
dication  of  the  divine  will.  I  have  been  connected  with  this  Institution. 
more  or  less,  for  fifty-six  years,  aud  to  break  this  connection  is  one  of  the 
saddest  experiences  of  my  life.     But  the  Lord's  will  be  done. 

With  the  assurance  of  my  continued  interest  in  the  prosperity  of  this 
Seminary, 

I  am  yours  in  the  bonds  of  a  warm  affection, 

William  M.  Paxtox. 

April  29,  1902.' 

It  was  resolved  that  the  resignation  of  Dr.  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  be  reluctantly  accepted,  and  the  following  minute  was  ordered  in 
connection  with  this  resolution: 

1.  In  view  of  the  length,  diversity,  and  efficiency  of  Dr.  Paxton 's  ser- 
vices to  our  Seminary;  in  view  of  the  honor  in  which  he  is  held  throughout 
the  whole  church,  and  of  the  consequent  loss  in  reputation  that  we  should 
incur  were  he  no  longer  to  be  associated  with  us;  and  especially  in  view 
of  the  degree  to  which  he  has  endeared  himself  to  us  all,  we  recommend 
that  the  Directors,  while  feeling  that  it  would  be  improper  to  question 
the  wisdom  of  a  decision  so  deliberate,  should  deprecate  any  resignation 
contemplating  his  entire  separation  from  the  Seminary. 

2.  We,  therefore,  appoint  Dr.  Paxton  Professor  Emeritus  of  Practical 
Theology;  we  place  his  name  on  the  catalogue  and  at  the  head  of  the  list 
of  the  Faculty.  We  ask  him  to  give  such  instruction,  whether  in  the  cur- 
riculum or  extra-curriculum  courses,  as  the  Faculty  shall  from  time  to  time 
arrange;  and,  in  partial  recognition  of  the  great  service  which  he  has 
rendered  and  will  yet  render  to  this  Institution,  we  request  him  to  continue 
to  occupy,  and  for  life,  a  house  which  was  built  especially  for  him  by  a 
friend  of  his  and  of  the  Seminary. 

3.  We  desire  to  express  to  Dr.  Paxton  our  earnest  hope  that  he  will 
make  every  effort  to  continue  to  us  and  to  our  students  and  professors 
the  benefit  of  his  example,  his  experience,  and  his  sympathy.  We  hereby 
congratulate  him  on  the  long  and  splendid  service  which  he  has  been  privi- 
leged to  render  to  the  church  and  especially  to  this  Seminary,  and  we 
express  to  him  the  hope  that  he  will  be  spared  as  our  example  and  coun- 
sellor for  many  years. ' ' 

XI.     Dr.    Paxton 's    Eightieth    Birthday.— The    following    letters    were 
sent  to  Dr.  Paxton  on  his  eightieth  birthday: 

110 


NOTES 


"Princeton  Theological  Seminary, 
June  7,  1904. 
' '  Dear  Dr.  Paxton  : 

Your  colleagues  in  the  faculty  would  offer  you  their  heartfelt  congratu- 
lations on  the  occasion  of  the  eightieth  anniversary  of  your  birth.  The 
year  marks  also  the  attainment  of  your  majority  as  a  member  of  the  teach- 
ing staff  of  the  Seminary,  the  completion  of  twenty-one  years  of  unin- 
termitted  labor  as  professor  of  Practical  Theology  at  Princeton. 

With  the  church  at  large  we  rejoice  in  your  long  service  as  a  minister  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  in  the  large  work  which  you  have  been  able  to  do  in  the 
administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom;  but  with  a  joy  all  our  own 
we  recall  the  goodly  fellowship  of  these  latter  years  and  the  unbroken  har- 
mony and  love  which  have  characterized  our  labors  together.  You  have 
reached  age  and  distinction  in  health  and  strength,  and  at  fourscore  years 
you  still  stand  among  us  with  the  harness  on.  Your  kindly  face,  your 
courteous  manner,  your  helpful  Christian  life,  together  with  the  gentle 
presence  of  the  quiet,  efficient,  godly  lady  at  your  side,  have  been  a 
blessed  influence  at  Princeton;  and  we  are  grateful  to  our  Father  in  heaven 
that  He  gave  both  of  you  to  us.  For  two  years,  dear  Dr.  Paxton,  you 
were  officially  our  leader  and  representative,  as  president  of  the  faculty. 
We  loved  you  then;  but  we  reverence  and  love  you  even  more  now  as  you 
grace  us  with  the  beauty  of  the  serene  age  of  a  Christian  man.  May  God 
continue  His  rich  blessing  unto  you. 


Francis  L.  Patton, 
John  D.  Davis, 
Wm.  Brenton  Greene,  Jr., 
Wm.  P.  Armstrong, 


Benjamin  B.  Warfield, 
John  De  Witt, 
Geerhardus  Vos, 
Kobert  D.  Wilson." 


' '  University  Place  Church,  cor.  Tenth  Street. 
1 '  My  dear  Dr.  Paxton  : 

The  members  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  at  their  meeting  yes- 
terday learned  with  great  interest  that  to-day  marks  the  close  of  your 
eightieth  year.  They  directed  me  to  convey  to  you  their  Christian  saluta- 
tions and  best  wishes.  With  grateful  hearts  they  recognize  the  kind  Provi- 
dence which  has  preserved  you  in  health  and  strength  of  body  and  mind 
through  such  a  long  period  of  Christian  service,  and  they  rejoice  in  the 
hope  that  the  Church,  which  we  all  love,  may  have  the  inspiration  of  your 
wisdom  and  example  for  years  to  come. 

Your  varied  and  fruitful  ministry  has  been  unique  in  eminence  as  well 
as  in  usefulness.  I  do  not  know  any  one  in  the  long  history  of  our  Church 
who  has  taught  in  two  of  our  largest  Seminaries,  presided  over  the  delibera- 
tions of  both  of  the  great  Missionary  Boards  of  the  Church,  filled  a  pas- 
torate in  many  respects  the  most  conspicuous  in  the  land,  and  served  as 

111 


NOTES 

Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly.  Such  a  history  implies  possession 
of  gifts  and  qualities  not  usually  combined  in  one  personality. 

Please  accept  from  your  colleagues  in  the  Board  the  assurance  of  their 
affectionate  regard  and  their  earnest  prayer  that  the  evening  of  your  life 
may  be  cloudless  and  serene,  blessed  with  the  confident  expectation  of  a 
brighter  morrow.  Fraternally  yours, 

New  York  City,  June  7,  1904.  George  Alexander.  ' ' 

XII.  Dr.  Paxton  and  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions.— The  following 
is  from  the  records  of  the  meeting  of  the  Board  on  December  5,  1904: 

"The  Board  learned  with  deep  regret  of  the  death  of  its  honored  senior 
member,  the  Bev.  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  which  occurred  at 
Princeton,  New  Jersey,  November  28th.  Only  a  few  months  had  elapsed 
since  the  Board  sent  special  congratulations  to  Dr.  Paxton  upon  the  event 
of  his  eightieth  birthday. 

He  had  been  a  member  of  the  Board  since  1861,  when  he  was  appointed 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
O.  S.,  of  whose  Executive  Committee  he  became  a  member  in  1868.  In 
the  Reunion  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  1870  his  membership  was  con- 
tinued, and  in  1880  he  was  elected  President  of  the  Board,  to  succeed  the 
Rev.  William  Adams,  D.D.,  then  recently  deceased. 

Dr.  Paxton  held  the  office  of  President  till  June,  1884,  when,  in  con- 
sequence of  his  removal  to  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  he  was  succeeded  in 
the  Presidency  by  the  late  Dr.  John  D.  Wells. 

Dr.  Paxton  was  born  in  Adams  County,  Pennsylvania,  June  7,  1824. 
He  first  studied  for  the  legal  profession,  but,  under  a  deep  sense  of  duty, 
he  turned  his  attention  to  the  ministry,  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Carlisle,  and  became  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Greencastle, 
Pennsylvania,  and  later  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Pittsburgh, 
during  which  latter  pastorate  he  occupied  for  several  years  the  Chair  of 
Sacred  Rhetoric  in  the  Western  Seminary  at  Allegheny. 

He  was  installed  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  New  York 
City  in  1866,  which  relation  he  held  till  1883.  During  his  New  York  pas- 
torate he  delivered,  for  a  period  of  two  years,  lectures  on  Sacred  Rhetoric 
at  Union  Theological  Seminary,  New  York. 

In  1883  he  was  elected  Professor  of  Homiletics  and  Rhetoric  at  the 
Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey. 

He  was  chosen  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1880. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that,  in  addition  to  his  long-continued  and  valu- 
able service  as  a  member  and  President  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
(he  was  a  member  also  for  a  time  in  the  Board  of  Home  Missions),  Dr. 
Paxton  had  held  some  of  the  very  highest  positions  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  as  a  pastor  and  teacher.  His  general  influence  throughout  the 
denomination  was  widespread,  inspiring  as  he  did  universal  confidence  by 

112 


NOTES 

his  foresight  and  the  soundness  of  his  judgment.  He  was  conservative  by- 
temperament  and  by  training,  and  that  not  only  in  his  theological  views, 
but  in  the  general  counsels  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Dr.  Paxton 
was  characterized  in  an  unusual  degree  by  a  commanding  presence,  rare 
dignity  of  manner,  great  refinement  of  feeling,  and  untiring  courtesy. 
Though  a  man  of  strong  convictions  which  he  never  hesitated  to  express, 
he  excelled  in  friendliness  of  spirit  and  consideration  for  the  views  and 
feelings  of  others. 

The  Board  desires  to  place  on  its  records  the  following  Minute: 

Besolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Eev.  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D.,  L.L.D., 
the  oldest  and  one  of  the  most  honored  of  its  members,  the  Board  has 
suffered  an  irreparable  loss.  At  the  same  time  it  would  express  its  grate- 
ful sense  of  the  valuable  counsel  and  services  which  have  been  rendered 
ungrudgingly  for  more  than  forty  years  to  the  great  missionary  work 
of  the  church. 

Besolved,  That  the  Board  reviews  with  much  satisfaction  the  helpful 
influence  of  that  strong  and  unflinching  faith  in  the  power  of  the  Gospel 
which  Dr.  Paxton  always  manifested  while  urging  forward  the  aggressive 
plans  of  the  Board,  and  the  judicial  fairness  with  which  he  discussed  all 
difficult  questions  as  they  arose  for  consideration;  and  would  also  note 
the  fidelity  with  which,  though  living  at  a  distance  and  suffering  with  the  in- 
creasing infirmities  of  age,  he  conscientiously  filled  his  place  at  the  regular 
meetings  of  the  Board. 

Resolved,  That  the  Board  would  express  its  profound  and  prayerful 
sympathy  with  the  family  of  the  deceased,  to  whom  a  copy  of  this  action 
shall  be  sent. 

Besolved,  That  a  copy  also  be  published  in  the  Assembly  Herald." 

XIII.    A  Memorial  Minute  adopted  by  the  New  York  Presbytery. — 

"Seldom  does  any  man  impose  upon  the  church  so  large  an  obligation  of 
gratitude  as  that  which  is  created  by  the  life-work  of  William  Miller  Pax- 
ton. His  eighty  years  were  fruitful  with  a  peculiarly  wide-command- 
ing and  beneficent  influence.  The  energy  of  his  personality  discharged 
itself  along  three  distinct  lines  of  achievement.  In  the  pulpit,  in  the 
administration  of  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  in  the  chair  of  theological  in- 
struction, he  rose  to  marked  and  equal  distinction. 

Among  the  mountains  of  southern  Pennsylvania  lies  hidden  the  remote 
place  of  his  birth.  From  his  ancestry  he  received  a  rich  inheritance  of 
character.  Both  his  father  and  grandfather  were  men  of  public  spirit 
and  civic  leadership— his  father  being  at  the  head  of  vast  and  important 
manufacturing  interests  and  holding  responsible  trusts;  his  grandfather, 
in  youth,  being  a  patriotic  soldier  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution,  and  in 
later  life  an  able  preacher  beloved  by  his  own  community  and  honored  by 
the  whole  church. 

113 


NOTES 

In  l>4.'i  lie  was  graduated  from  Pennsylvania  College  at  Gettysburg,  a  town 
to-day  of  world-wide  fame  as  one  of  the  pivotal  points  in  human  history; 
then  B  tiny  hamlet,  the  centre  of  life  for  a  farming  community.  At  first  he 
addressed  himself  to   the  study  of   the   law.     But   shortly  the   conviction 

awakened  within  him  and  took  possession  of  him,  that,  whatever  his  own 
choice  might  have  been,  the  call  of  God  was  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
Characteristically  obedient  to  the  heavenly  vision,  he  abandoned  the  Com- 
mentaries of  Blackstone  for  the  professional  mastery  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, and  he  entered  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  in  1845.  Here 
he  sat  at  the  feet  of  Archibald  Alexander  and  his  distinguished  colleague, 
Samuel  Miller,  who  had,  coming  to  the  seminary  from  the  First  Church 
of  New  York  City,  marked  a  shining  path  along  which  his  pupil  in  the 
after  years  should  follow  him.  Graduated  from  the  seminary  in  1848. 
he  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle,  upon  October  the  4th  of 
that  same  year.  During  the  years  following  he  served  the  church  at  Green- 
castle,  Pennsylvania,  and  albeit  his  opening  pastorate  was  so  brief,  the 
traditions  of  its  winsomeness  and  power  still  linger  in  that  quiet  town. 
For  fourteen  years  he  occupied  the  notable  pulpit  of  the  First  Church  of 
Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  with  a  continual  unfolding  and  maturing  of  the 
splendid  potencies  with  which  his  nature  was  so  generously  stored. 

Coming  to  the  First  Church  of  New  York  City  in  the  very  zenith  of 
his  ability,  he  lavished  the  wealthiest  possibilities  of  his  life  in  its  pastoral 
oversight,  and  having  wrought  and  taught  with  masterful  success,  closed 
his  career  as  a  pastor  in  1883,  in  order  that  he  might  assume  the  honors 
and  discharge  the  responsibibties  of  professional  duty  in  the  seminary  at 
Princeton.  This  post  was  the  third  professorship  which  he  had  occupied, 
having  been  lecturer  on  Sacred  Ehetoric  in  Allegheny  from  1860  to  1872, 
and  in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary  of  this  city  from  1871  to  1873. 
He  was  director  in  three  seminaries — the  Western  Theological  Seminary,  the 
Union  Theological  Seminary,  and  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton. 
In  accordance  with  a  precedent,  unbroken  from  the  time  of  its  foundation, 
when  the  pastor  of  the  First  Church  of  New  York  was  one  of  its  charter 
members,  he  was  a  trustee  of  Princeton  University,  an  office  which  he  held 
for  thirty-eight  years.  He  was  president  of  two  great  benevolent  Boards — 
the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  He  was 
Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  May. 
1880,  and  preached  the  opening  sermon  of  the  Second  General  Council  of  the 
Pan-Presbyterian  Alliance  at  Philadelphia  in  September  of  the  same  year. 
In  virtue  of  his  pastorate  he  was  a  member  of  throe  historic  and  illus- 
trious charities— the  Sailors'  Snug  Harbor,  the  Leake  and  Watts  Orphan 
Asylum,  and  the  Presbyterian  Hospital. 

In  bearing  he  was  dignified  and  courtly.  In  habit  of  thought  he  was 
analytic  and  searching;  in  expression  of  thought,  forceful  and  elegant. 
In  conviction  of  truth  he  was  clear-cut  and  outspoken;  none  doubted  as 
to  where  he  stood,  or  why.     In  counsel  he  was  judicious  and  sympathetic— 

114 


NOTES 

a  ready  and  resourceful  friend.  In  religious  experience  he  was  deep  and 
genuine;  all  who  knew  him  knew  that  he  walked  with  God. 

By  medical  advice,  in  1902,  he  retired  from  active  service.  Life's  Cape 
of  Storms  being  rounded,  he  sailed  across  a  Pacific  sea  until  he  quietly 
entered  port  and  dropped  anchor.  On  Monday,  November  28,  1904,  his 
long  and  eventful  life-voyage  was  ended— the  goal  of  all  his  prayer  and 
thought  and  work  and  aspiration  was  attained.  The  reward  for  which 
he  had  spent  his  years  was  won.    He  saw  his  '  Pilot  face  to  face. ' 

Howard  Duffield, 
kobert   eussell  booth, 
John  J.  McCook.  " 

XIV.  Necrological  Eeport  presented  to  the  Alumni  Association  of 
the  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  May  9,  1905.  (By  the  Eev. 
Joseph  H.  Dulles,  M.A.)  — 

William  Miller  Paxton,  D.D.,  L.L.D., 

son  of  James  Dunlop  and  Jane  Maria  (Miller)  Paxton,  was  born  June  7, 
1824,  at  Maria  Furnace,  Adams  County,  Pennsylvania.  He  made  a  pub- 
lic confession  of  his  faith  in  the  Falling  Spring  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  when  nearly  twenty-one  years  of  age.  His 
preparatory  studies  were  pursued  in  the  preparatory  department  of  Penn- 
sylvania College,  Gettysburg,  and  he  was  graduated  from  its  collegiate 
department  in  1843.  He  then  studied  law  for  two  years  in  Chambersburg, 
Pennsylvania.  Entering  the  Seminary  at  Princeton  in  the  fall  of  1845,  he 
took  the  full  three  years'  course  there,  graduating  in  1848.  He  was 
licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle,  June  1,  1847,  and  ordained  by 
the  same  Presbytery,  October  4,  1848,  being  at  the  same  time  in- 
stalled pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Greencastle,  Pennsylvania. 
This  relation  was  dissolved  December  5,  1850,  that  he  might  accept  a  call 
to  the  First  Church  of  Pittsburgh,  over  which  he  was  installed  January 
28,  1851,  and  from  which  he  was  released  June  28,  1865.  In  1860  he 
became  professor  of  Sacred  Ehetoric  in  the  Western  Theological  Seminary 
at  Allegheny,  adding  the  duties  of  this  chair  to  those  of  his  pastorate 
during  the  last  five  years  of  his  stay  in  Pittsburgh  and  continuing  them 
until  1872,  some  years  after  his  removal  to  New  York  City.  He  was  pas- 
tor of  the  First  Church  of  New  York  City  from  February  1,  1866,  until 
July  9,  1883,  and  for  two  years  of  this  time,  1871-1873,  instructor  of  Sacred 
Ehetoric  in  Union  Theological  Seminary,  New  York.  He  gave  up  his  New 
York  charge  on  being  called  to  the  chair  of  Ecclesiastical,  Homiletical,  and 
Pastoral  Theology  in  Princeton  Seminary,  and  took  up  his  work  there  in 
the  fall  of  1883.  He  was  obliged  to  lay  down  its  burdens,  on  account  of 
the  growing  infirmities  of  age,  in  the  spring  of  1902,  when  he  was  made 
professor  emeritus.  He  died  November  28,  1904,  in  Princeton,  as  the 
result  of  a  stroke  of  paralysis  which  he  had  two  weeks  previously,  in  the 

115 


NOTES 

eighty-first  year  of  his  age.  He  was  buried  in  the  Princeton  cemetery. 
He  received  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.  from  Jefferson  College  in  1860,  and 
that  of  LL.D.  from  Washington  and  Jefferson  College  in  1883.  Dr.  Pax- 
ton  held  many  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility  in  the  Church.  He  was 
a  director  of  the  Western  Theological  Seminary  at  Allegheny,  1852-1860; 
a  trustee  of  Washington  and  Jefferson  College,  1853-1865;  a  director  of 
Princeton  Seminary,  1866-1883;  a  trustee  of  Union  Seminary,  New  York, 
1873-1884;  a  trustee  of  Princeton  University  from  1867  until  his  death; 
a  trustee  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  from  1892 
until  his  death;  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  at  Madison,  Wiscon- 
sin, in  18S0;  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions,  1866-1880,  and  its 
president  1876-1878;  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  from  1866 
until  his  death,  and  its  president,  1881-1884.  He  was  also  a  trustee  of  the 
Leake  and  Watts  Orphan  Asylum  and  of  the  Sailors'  Snug  Harbor,  both 
of  New  York.  He  was  a  commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly  at  Roch- 
ester in  1860,  at  Columbus  in  1862,  at  Philadelphia  in  1870,  at  Madison, 
Wisconsin,  in  1880,  and  at  Buffalo,  New  York,  in  1881.  Dr.  Paxton  was 
frequently  called  upon  for  addresses  on  special  occasions.  Many  of  his 
sermons  and  addresses  were  published.  The  following  may  be  mentioned: 
Two  Discourses  upon  the  Life  and  Character  of  the  Eev.  Francis  Herron, 
D.D.,  1860;  Discourse  on  the  Panic  of  1857'.*^  The  Nation:  Its  Relation  and 
Duties  to  God;  The  Nation's  Gratitude  and  Hope,  1862;  Christian  Benefi- 
cence, 1857;  funeral  Discourses:  Life  and  Character  of  Dr.  Bryan':  of 
the  Hon.  Walter  Lowrie,  1869;  of  Dr.  Spring,  1873;  of  Dr.  Charles  Hodge, 
1878;  of  Dr.  M.  W.  Jacobus,  1876;  of  Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge,  1886;  inaugural 
address  when  made  a  professor  in  Princeton  Seminary,  1884;  charge  at  the 
inauguration  of  Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge  as  professor  in  Princeton  Seminary;  The 
Church:  Its  Strength  and  Its  Weakness,  1881;  How  We  Spend  Our  Years, 
1875;  Home  Missions  in  America,  an  address  at  the  First  General  Presby- 
terian Council  at  Edinburgh,  1877;  address  on  Archibald  Alexander  in 
the  Alexander  Memorial,  1879;  Dr.  Charles  Hodge  as  Teacher  and  Preacher, 
in  The  Life  of  Charles  Hodge  by  A.  A.  Hodge,  1880;  The  Mission  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  a  sermon,  1880;  The  Call  to  the  Ministry,  Presby- 
terian Eeview,  January,  1889;  a  sermon  on  Salvation  as  a  Work,  in  the 
Princeton  Sermons,  1893.  Also  a  syllabus  of  his  course  in  Homiletics  was 
printed,  although  not  published. 

Dr.  Paxton  was  twice  married:  (1)  August  11,  1852,  in  Chestertown, 
Maryland,  to  Hester  V.  B.  Wickes,  who  died  August  13,  1854;  (2)  No- 
vember 8,  1855,  in  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  to  Caroline  Sophia  Denny, 
who,  with  three  sons  and  four  daughters,  survives  him.  One  of  the  sons 
is  the  Rev.  James  D.  Paxton,  D.D.,  an  alumnus  of  the  Seminary. 

[*  No  copies  of  the  two  Discourses  marked  by  an  asterisk  have  been  recovered,  and 
they  are  therefore  not  inserted  in  the  list  on  pp.  93  ff.,  although  they  are  known  on 
Dr.  Paxtou's  own  authority  to  have  been  published.l 


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